Every Filipino basketball fan has been dreaming of seeing the duo of Justin Brownlee and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson team up in the court. They may finally have their wish.
After missing their first four games, Brownlee finally joined the Bolts in practice on Wednesday, setting the stage for his mouthwatering tandem with his longtime rival Hollis-Jefferson against the Macau Black Bears in the East Asia Super League (EASL) Home and Away Season 3 on 6 December.
No less than the league expressed excitement over the tandem as it posted a video of Brownlee walking into the Meralco practice facility at Upper Deck Gym in Ortigas, where he was warmly welcomed by his future teammates, including Hollis-Jefferson.
Brownlee, the resident import of Barangay Ginebra, had some unforgettable battles with Hollis-Jefferson, who plays for TNT Tropang Giga in the Philippine Basketball Association. They have nine PBA titles between them and even battled for the gold medal when Brownlee played for the Philippines and Hollis-Jefferson represented Jordan in the 19th Asian Games in 2023.
Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said it will be quite a challenge to integrate Brownlee into the system with three days left before they battle the Black Bears at the Capital Arena in Ilagan City in Isabela.
"He just started today. We have three days to integrate him into our system," said Trillo, who is assisting Serbian coach Nenad Vucinic in the coaching chores of the Bolts in EASL.
"It’s going to be hard but if we keep it simple, hopefully, the transition will not be as hard as expected."
Brownlee’s Meralco stint was long overdue.v In fact, he was supposed to suit up as early as last October when the Bolts opened their season against the Ryukyu Golden Kings due to pneumonia. He was also not around against the Bolts battled the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots and the Black Bears recently.
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