Tony Bishop doesn't mind the replacement tag.
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel coaching staff is quite confident of Tony Bishop.
In fact, Tim Cone already has a vision on how Bishop will be able to play with his Ginebra teammates. On the other hand, assistant coach Olsen Racela believes the former Meralco Bolt will fit like a glove with his new team.
While they may be right in their assessment, one thing is abundantly clear: Bishop is filling in some enormously large shoes—those of Brownlee, who has given Ginebra six titles in six years, along with countless thrills and magical moments.
Needless to say, that’s a lot of pressure. Only, Bishop is not feeling it—not one bit.
“Honestly, I don’t feel the pressure,” the 34-year-old forward told Noli Eala in an interview on Saturday’s episode of One PH’s Power and Play “I know the history of the club, of winning championships. They’re like the (Los Angeles) Lakers here in the Philippines. The standard is to win, and I’ve won some championships as well, so I know how to win a championship.”
Bishop, it turns out, also knows what he needs to do as Brownlee’s stand-in.
“I’m just gonna bring what I can bring to the table—my confidence, my excitement, my passion, my scoring ability, my ability to move without the basketball, my defense, my work ethic, and my way to gel with teams,” said Bishop.
The veteran internationalist also told Eala he has reached out to Brownlee, although the two former rivals have not officially gotten the chance to speak. Once they do connect, Bishop knows exactly what to do.
“We’ll be able to talk soon, and I would like to pick his brain on what I can do best to help the team win games. I know he’s a legend here…,” Bishop added. “I just want to pick his brain to understand his mindset and get to learn from him as well.”
To be clear, there is no replacing Brownlee, whose spot in Ginebra lore is secure already. But, from the looks of it, Bishop might just turn out to be a pretty good replacement.