Helterbrand: 2-year ban ‘a long time’ for Brownlee

A two-year ban could spell trouble for Justin Brownlee’s career, says a former Barangay Ginebra star.—FIBA PHOTO

Jayjay Helterbrand, a former longtime starting point guard of Barangay Ginebra, said a maximum ban for a flunked drug test would be very detrimental for Justin Brownlee.

“Two years for a player is a long time. That’s a waste. Because really, how old is Brownlee?” Helterbrand said in a chat with former pros in the PBA Motoclub YouTube channel.

Brownlee is facing a suspension of as long as two years for testing positive for Carboxy-THC, a banned substance under the doping rules used in the Hangzhou Asian Games.

“OA naman (That’s such an overreaction), two years? Wow,” Helterbrand said.

The speedy playmaker spent his entire Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) career with Barangay Ginebra, manning the backcourt along with Mark Caguioa as the duo came to be known as “The Fast and the Furious” for its relentlessness on offense.

The 35-year-old Brownlee will waste two of his remaining productive years in the freezer if slapped with the maximum punishment by the International Basketball Federation (Fiba). However, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) said it is working with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) to have any possible ban reduced.

Gathering documents

Brownlee and the SBP are now working on gathering medical documents to prove the traces of Carboxy-THC found in his system come from medication Brownlee took while dealing with an ankle injury that eventually required surgery to remove bone spurs.

“It takes 30 days [for the substance] to [flush] out of your system. And maybe when he was still in China he still had it in his system,” suggested Helterbrand.

Ginebra is the defending champions of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup which opens Nov. 5 and a suspension could derail the Gin Kings’ title-retention bid. Brownlee could also miss the season-ending Governors’ Cup—a tournament where he has led the Gin Kings to four titles.

Brownlee could also miss an Olympic-qualifying tournament in July, which will be the Philippines’ last chance to book a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

POC president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino has said that the Ginebra star’s camp and the country’s basketball leaders are now in the process of preparing for several scenarios, which includes Brownlee’s B-sample also yielding a positive result. INQ

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