By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel are eager to get their chance at redemption after a surprising first-round exit in the Philippine Cup conference.
The Ginebra franchise is already looking ahead to the conference next month as they plan to bring back superstar Justin Brownlee to help the team redeem its place in the league.
“The plan is for Justin to return. He is ready to come over anytime,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone during an interview.
Surprisingly, the Philippine Cup defending champions struggled from the elimination round, needing a crucial loss from the Alaska Aces and a point-system advantage against Terrafirma to advance in a do-or-die for the last playoff spot against the Phoenix Super LPG squad.
Although they got the better of Phoenix, Ginebra’s never-say-die spirit wasn’t evident during the first round when they got crushed by the no.1 seed TNT Tropang Giga.
Now that they have failed to defend their PH Cup title, the team is looking to prepare ahead of the next conference.
With the return of super import Brownlee who helped them rack up four titles including the 2019 Governor’s Cup, Ginebra is seeking to reverse their recent conference performance.
However, the next conference, slated to be held in November, will still depend if the location of the bubble will be under the General Community Quarantine (GCQ).
“We’re just waiting for league approval to start practicing again,” added Cone.
