Justin Noypi cannot wait to play in front of the Gin Kings' throng of supporters.
Ginebra may have failed to barge into the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals, but that doesn’t mean erstwhile top import contender Tony Bishop did not do a great job.
Gin Kings resident reinforcement Justin Brownlee, who had to take a backseat as he failed a doping test after steering Gilas to the Asian Games gold last year, lauded Bishop for handling matters well in his absence.
Bishop led Ginebra to the semifinals before the Gin Kings got dethroned by mighty San Miguel in a sweep of their best-of-five battle.
For his heroics, the 34-year-old American-Panamanian put his name down on the race for the best reinforcement trophy this conference which eventually went to Phoenix's Jonathan Williams who amassed a league-best 1017 total points.
Bishop's 506 collection anchored on 484 statistical points, five media votes and 17 players' votes was good enough for fourth place.
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“I give a lot of credit to Tony Bishop. He came in and played his hardest and tried his best for the team,” Brownlee told reporters as he was honored at halftime of last night's Game Four battle between Magnolia and San Miguel for his gold-clinching exploits for Gilas in last year's Asian Games.
But with Brownlee back after his three-month hiatus, expect the naturalized player to be at the forefront of Ginebra come another import-spiced conference – something which he is eager to do once again.
“Every opportunity I get, I continue to cherish it,” he said. “I can’t wait to put on that Ginebra jersey again.”
Gin King fans would have to wait a little while before that happens, though.
For now, Brownlee is set to wear the Gilas Pilipinas colors for the first window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers where the team will take on Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei this month.