Dahil sa napipintong hindi paglalaro ni Barangay Ginebra stalwart na si Justin Brownlee, umaasa ang Meralco Bolts na malaki na ang tiyansa nilang makopo ang Commissioner’s Cup title sa PBA na magsisimula na sa November 5.
Ayon kay Bolts coach Luigi Trillo, mayroon silang ginintuang pagkakataon na makalampas sa umbok at manalo sa kanilang pambihirang titulo kasunod ng napipintong suspensiyon kay Brownlee, na nagpositibo sa ipinagbabawal na substance pagkatapos ng 19th Asian Games noong nakaraang buwan.
“I think not only with Meralco, but anybody,” sabi ni Trillo sa isang panayam. “What’s good about Brownlee is playing the way he plays, he knows the league. A lot of question marks were on his injuries before he won the gold, but he showed how dominant he can be.”
“A good import, to me, is how he makes his teammates better and that’s what Brownlee does and he makes himself better. He knows which buttons to press and he’s very coachable,” dagdag niya.
Si Brownlee ang nakikitang pinakamalaking hadlang sa landas ng Bolts sa kanilang unang korona sa PBA.
Sa katunayan, apat na beses na sinunog ni Brownlee ang Bolts sa finals para manalo ng anim na PBA titles at tatlong Best Imports honors.
Sinabi ni Trillo na ang posibleng pagkawala ni Brownlee ay lumilikha ng malawak na karera para sa titulo ng PBA.
“Look at the greats – Coach Norman (Black), Sean Chambers, Bobby Parks, Brownlee. To be great, you have to have those qualities. But in his absence, it’s not only us, but everybody will have an opportunity and we know what Brownlee can do,” sabi ni Trillo.
“I hope he gets an opportunity to play (again). I hope they will lighten the suspension and that he’ll get another opportunity again,” dagdag niya.
Gayunpaman, mananatili pa rin si Black sa Bolts bilang coaching consultant habang ang Serbian na si Nenad Vucinic ay gaganap ng mas aktibong papel.
“Coach Norman was able to build the foundation in helping the team reach multiple semifinals and finals,” sabi ni Trillo. “He’s there as a consultant, but Coach Nenad is an active consultant. Coach Norman is one guy you can seek for advice. He puts the pieces in as well. We want to continue the good things that he did.”
