Ginebra's Brownlee finally cops PBA Best Import plum

MANILA, Philippines — Justin Brownlee finally arrested two years of becoming the runner-up, winning the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Best Import award on Friday night.

The Barangay Ginebra import bested his a former brother-in-arms in San Miguel Beer’s Renaldo Balkman who like him, reuinted with their former teams nearly halfway through the midseason joust. Both reinforcements were instrumental in helping their respective teams mount a turnaround and reach the final dance.

Best Import x BPC!#PBAFinals pic.twitter.com/ZVQufaqADm

— PBA (@pbaconnect) August 3, 2018

Brownlee had been averaging 28.8 points, 12.5 boards and 6.6 dimes a night for the Gin Kings before the best-of-seven saga with the Beermen. Balkman, for his part, registered a norm of. 28.07 points, 12.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

He collected a sum of 1,209 votes from the league, the players, the media, and from the statistical race. Balkman, for his part, garnered 858 in the voting. 

The 30-year-old American cager, who powered Barangay Ginebra to two titles in the season-ending conference in the past two years, came up short twice to Meralco Bolts’ Allen Durham for the plum.

At 6'4" and 5/8, Brownlee is the shortest player to ever win the honors in the Commissioner's Cup. The conference has a 6-foot-10 height limit for imports.

He has been the lone steady hand in the Gin Kings’ ongoing campaign to dethrone the Beermen in the Commissioner’s Cup Finals. Brownlee and Ginebra have a chance to level the playing field as of this story's posting time.

.@pbaconnect reveals the breakdown for the Master Sardines-Best Player of the Conference and Best Import for the 2018 PBA mid-season joust. @StarSportsHub @PhilstarNews @PhilippineStar pic.twitter.com/4lkn9njbCi

— Denison Rey Dalupang (@sonrd) August 3, 2018