This rivalry will never get old. Justin Brownlee may have won all three championship encounters with Allen Durham, but their names are going to be mentioned always in the same breath.
It is widely known that Brownlee is one of the two winningest imports ever to play in the PBA with six championships, an honor he shares with another great import, Sean Chambers. Meanwhile, Durham is considered as one of the best reinforcements who have yet to win a title in Asia's pioneering professional league.
After facing off in three hard-fought title series in the 2016, 2017 and 2019 Governors' Cup, Brownlee and Durham are set for long-awaited fourth duel, this time in the Season 49 Governors' Cup best of five quarterfinal series.
"It's going to be a fun matchup, very competitive and a little bit of a rivalry throughout history," Brownlee said of the upcoming duel with Durham, who beat him for Best Import honors thrice but got the last laugh with a hat trick of crowns for the Gin Kings.
"Me and Allen, we're older now so you know that's the big difference. He's been playing great this conference. Obviously, they've been having some success; they're No. 2 (in Group A). He's going to be great, we know that."
One of the things Durham looks forward to on his fourth tour of duty is the opportunity to reconnect and renew his old rivalry with Brownlee.
"We are going to be connected," said Durham. "When you say one person's name, the other one is going to be mentioned. You want to play against the best and I'm excited to get that opportunity again."
The Bolts are fresh from winning their first ever championship in the PBA when they defeated the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Cup last season and Durham wants to be a part of something, knowing that he'll rejoin a team that has a potential of repeating as champions.
"After all my accomplishments in the PBA, it would be nice to add a championship to that. That's what I've been thinking about - and hopefully, this is the year," said Durham.
"I'm very proud of the guys to get over the hump. Now, everybody knows that it can be done. I'm excited about the possibilities on what we can do this conference."
No comments:
Post a Comment