As Barangay Ginebra San Miguel braces for the worst in relation to Justin Brownlee’s doping case, the squad is bringing in a familiar face in its bid to ramp up its chances in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup that gets going on 5 November.
Tony Bishop, who suited up for Meralco two seasons ago, was an obvious choice, assistant Richard del Rosario told DAILY TRIBUNE as everyone is expecting that Brownlee will get banned by the International Basketball Federation for his use of a substance containing cannabis during Gilas Pilipinas’ gold medal win in the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games.
Bishop, who stands 6-foot-6, averaged 25.7 points, grabbed 13.4 rebounds, issued 3.3 assists and had 1.7 steals per game during the 2021-2022 Governors’ Cup.
He also led the Bolts to the championship series twice.
“When we knew we had to find a guy while we’re waiting for the decision on Justin, Tony’s name was the first one to come up,” wrote Del Rosario in a Viber message.
Head coach Tim Cone said Bishop’s versatility “made him a hard cover and we loved his temperament.”
“He is familiar to us and that was important in our selection process. We think that he’ll be a good fit.”
Ginebra will be at a disadvantage since the height limit in the Commissioner’s Cup is 6-foot-9.
But that should not pose a problem given that the 34-year-old is coming off a solid stint with Halcones De Xalapa in the Mexican league.
Bishop is already in town and will show up for practice on Monday, added Cone.
