Imports Brownlee, Balkman stamp class for Alab Pilipinas

BACK-TO-BACK PBA champion Justin Brownlee and his fellow import Renaldo Balkman didn’t have much problem stamping their class with new team Alab Pilipinas in the ASEAN Basketball League.

Mr. Brownlee, back in action after steering the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings to their second straight Governors’ Cup triumph, knocked in 29 points to lead the way for Alab Pilipinas.

His partner, Mr. Balkman, who is out to redeem himself from a forgettable stint last time he reinforced the old San Miguel Beer franchise then known as Petron, had a double-double performance of 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Head coach Jimmy Alapag could only heaped praise on the two imports who barely had difficulty fitting quickly to the team’s system despite the short period of time.

“It’s been tough for us the last one and a half week. I have to commend these two imports. They just arrived Wednesday morning but played well along with the locals,” said Mr. Alapag.

Both Messrs. Brownlee and Balkman are familiar fixtures in Philippine basketball, but are remembered in contrasting ways.

Mr. Brownlee became endeared to PBA fans when his buzzer- beating three- pointer sent the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings to their first championship under Tim Cone in 2016 against ironically Meralco, a team where Mr. Alapag last played for.

Last year, Mr. Brownlee came back and fulfilled his mission of leading the Gin Kings to back-toback crowns.

Mr. Balkman, on the other hand, a dark past, which he wants to erase.

He was banned from playing in the PBA after choking his own teammate, Arwind Santos, during Petron’s elimination round game.

Now given a second chance to put everything behind him, Mr. Balkman wants to reconnect to Filipino fans and Wednesday night’s 90-79 win over the Westport Dragons could be the start of something promising.

“I was surprised. It felt great. I know I did a lot of things in the past. But past is past. I just lost my head. Today is a great day to start,” he added. —