If and when Brgy. Ginebra makes its debut in the East Asia Super League, super import Justin Brownlee will remain just that… a super import.
EASL boss Henry Kerins clarified as such when asked if Brownlee will be considered a local if the Gin Kings do qualify to the EASL, owing to JB’s status now as a naturalized player.
“It’s the domestic [PBA] rules,” Kerins said, during his roundtable with Philippine media at the EASL Final Four Weekend in Lapu-Lapu City.
“Even though Brownlee is naturalized, the PBA sees him as an import, right? So then we would see him as an import,” he added.
While the EASL has its own rules, mainly allowing teams to field up to two foreigners plus a naturalized player or an Asian heritage import, Kerins says they have no authority to police their partner leagues when it comes to their own domestic rules, nor do they want to in the first place.
Brownlee was officially naturalized in January 2023, allowing him to finally suit up for Gilas Pilipinas. But when he plays in the PBA with Brgy. Ginebra, he remains counted as the Gin Kings’ reinforcement for import-laced conferences.
The same was true for another Gilas naturalized player in Marcus Douthit, who had two separate stints as PBA import for Air21 and Blackwater in the past despite already being a naturalized Filipino.
Rules are naturally different in other leagues. In Japan’s B.League for example, teams may register no more than three foreign players. With regard to naturalized players or Asian Quota players, teams are entitled to one if they choose to do so, but not both.
Also in the B.League, only two world imports can play at the same time, but naturalized players or Asian Quota Players can play at the same time with the two world imports.
“That’s their rules,” Kerins said.
“If the PBA said okay we’re changing it and Brownlee is a local player and you can have another import, then we would say he’s [Brownlee] a local player. But according to PBA rules Brownlee is an import, even though he’s naturalized,” the EASL boss added.
The topic of imports is always heightened during EASL games, especially as teams within the partner leagues have varying rules regarding reinforcements, and so there’s friction and insinuation that the team with the best or most imports will always win.
But to coach John Patrick, whose Chiba Jets team won this season’s tournament on an 8-0 sweep, he sees having imports, plural with an s, as beneficial to growth not just by the local players, but their domestic leagues as well.
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“In Germany we had this situation before, we had only two foreigners on the court and the German league did not improve,” he said.
“Now there are six Americans on the court, also in Japan it used to be one but now we have three on the team,” Patrick added.
Coach Patrick argues that having higher competition will never be detrimental to improvement.
And local players that are good will always get their roster spots.
“I think it makes the domestic players have to perform at a higher level. Yuki [Togashi] competes against Americans no excuses. If I had it my way, my two sons are also professional players, but the more they can play against the best competition, the better they get,” the veteran mentor said.
“It just makes the level of competition higher. The local players who want it, they will fight for their spot and they would get better too,” Patrick added.
As basketball continues its march to be more international, the topic of imports will always be brought up.
Even before the EASL Final Four weekend commenced in Lapu-Lapu, import talk in the PBA was a hot discussion as former NBA champion with the Lakers Dwight Howard expressed his intention to play in the league.
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However, Dwight will never be eligible to play in the Philippines, not until the PBA removes its height restrictions in the Commissioner’s Cup, where the limit for foreign players is 6-foot-9. In the Governors’ Cup, the limit is 6-foot-6.
Dwight is listed 6-foot-10 in the NBA.
The height limit, along with the PBA only allowing one import, are factors seen why Philippine teams have struggled in the EASL, where no PBA squad has managed a podium.
This season, TNT and Meralco went a combined 2-10. Last season, TNT and San Miguel went a combined 0-4. The highest finish by a PBA team in EASL tournaments is fourth, by the San Miguel Beermen in the 2019 Terrific 12 with two imports, and by the NLEX Road Warriors in the 2018 Super 8 with all local lineups.
“The PBA is difficult because of the conference system and also the one import. It’s something I’m really trying to work on in terms of understanding how to make it more fair,” Kerins said.
The PBA’s struggles in the East Asia Super League are very much noted by Kerins, but he believes that it’s only a matter of time before Filipinos have success in the budding international showcase.
Kerins believes in the Filipino players’ skill and talent, and he also believes that the PBA can open its doors for more international talent, as the league have done so in the past.
“Basketball is moving quickly, you’re gonna have more and more guys in your league that are international,” Kerins said.
“Don’t forget, the PBA had an Asian import rule not that long ago, and it was great. You’ll see a lot of changes in basketball,” he added.
True enough, there was a time when the PBA featured two imports, and as recently as 2016, the PBA had its doors open for Asian imports.
In hindsight, one can argue the PBA’s “Asian Quota” system then was actually better than the Asian Quota Player system of Japan and Korea now, as the PBA welcomed Asian imports from all over, including the Middle East.
In the 2015 Governors’ Cup, the PBA had the likes of national team stars Michael Madanly and Sam Daghles on team lineups. Seiya Ando was also an Asian import, and he still actually stars in the B.League now, averaging 20.4 points per game for the Shimane Susanoo Magic, third in the B1 this year.
In the 2016 Governors’ Cup, notable new names included Iran star Mohammad Jamshidi and Korea’s Lee Gwan-hee, who actually credited his stint in the PBA with Phoenix as a thing that helped him star in the KBL with the Seoul Samsung Thunders and now, with the Changwon LG Sakers.
“I’ve been around basketball a while, and even when we did those tournaments in Macau, people talked about how the CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) was gonna come and beat everyone, you don’t know what you don’t know, you know?” Kerins said, as he notes that the EASL having a competitive PBA team would naturally be good for everyone involved.
“The Koreans are serious, the Japanese are obviously serious. If the PBA, like Ginebra and San Miguel, who just won [the Commissioner’s Cup], if those guys show up, I’m not gonna say they’re gonna win but I guarantee you they would have no problem competing,” he added.
The key word in Kerins’ statement is “serious.” Intentional or not, and whether they admit it or not, it does seem that PBA teams don’t exactly put their best foot forward in the EASL.
However, PBA teams are innately competitive, and their time will soon come, as also noted by another key international hoops icon who’s had experience with Philippine basketball.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that Philippine teams could win. San Miguel, Talk ’N Text… these teams could come here and win. It’s just in the beginning stages, how much attention and how much you put to it. You’re allowed two imports, these teams play their domestic competition with two imports, the Philippines plays with one and that’s big,” Brian Goorjian said.
Goorjian of course is the current Australia Boomers coach and former head coach of the short-lived Bay Area Dragons, who went to Game 7 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals with Brgy. Ginebra.
Now the Sydney Kings coach in the NBL, Goorjian goes back to the topic of imports, and how the PBA can better integrate international talent to help the local stars shine through in a competition such as the EASL.
“I’m looking at the Philippine teams and their local players can play with anybody,” he said.
“I thought it was the blend of the imports and how seriously do you take this. I think when the Philippines come in here and say we wanna win this and we wanna take this seriously [they can], and I think that’s coming. I think the Philippines will take it more serious, and when they do they’ll be in the top-4 doing damage,” Goorjian added.