Me thinks every Barangay Ginebra fan knew life without Justin "Noypi" Brownlee wouldn't be easy. Throw Scottie Thompson's injury into the mix, however, and suddenly the Gin Kings' 2-3 start doesn't look all that surprising.
Before anyone starts blaming Riley Grigsby, let's pump the brakes.
The American import has actually been productive. Even after Ginebra's 73-88 loss to Magnolia Chicken Templados (I renew my complaint about that long name) that dropped the Gin Kings to 2-3, Grigsby is averaging 25.0 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists through five games.
Those aren't the numbers of a struggling import. The problem isn't Grigsby.
The problem is everyone—including Grigsby himself—is trying to replace Brownlee.
That's impossible.
I digress.
Brownlee isn't merely the PBA's import GOAT because of championships and clutch baskets. He's mastered Tim Cone's triangle offense, knows every teammate's tendencies, and has an uncanny ability to post up, attract double- and triple-teams, and create open looks for teammates. As I pointed out in my recording, Grigsby simply doesn't have that same inside game or chemistry with the rest of the Kings—at least not yet.
Chemistry isn't built in a month. It's built over years.
If Brownlee's absence hurts, Scottie Thompson's may hurt just as much.
Ka barangay, Scottie is Ginebra's Swiss Army knife. He scores, rebounds, distributes, defends, dives for loose balls, and somehow fills every gap on the floor. Take him out of the lineup and everyone else's job becomes harder.
That's exactly what's happening to RJ Abarrientos.
Instead of simply attacking the basket and hunting his own shot, RJ has been forced to become the team's primary playmaker. As I said in my recording, he's more of an off-guard than a true point guard, and trying to become Scottie has taken away part of what makes him so dangerous offensively.
Japeth Aguilar continues battling Father Time, Jeremiah Gray still needs to transform potential into production, Stephen Holt has shown a tendency to disappear after promising starts, and while Troy Rosario continues doing the dirty work defensively, Ginebra could use more offense from the veteran.
None of those issues fall squarely on Grigsby's shoulders.
That's why me thinks the Gin Kings shouldn't panic despite the 2-3 record.
The objective now isn't necessarily securing the No. 1 seed. It's surviving long enough to make the playoffs.
Because if Brownlee—and hopefully Scottie—return in time for the postseason, everything changes.
As I said in my recording, I'd still take a Brownlee who's only 75% healthy over a fully healthy Grigsby because familiarity matters. Brownlee's chemistry with Cone's system and with Thompson, Aguilar, Abarrientos, Holt, Rosario, and the rest of the Ginebra core simply can't be replicated overnight.
So no, the Riley Grigsby experiment isn't a failure.
It's simply proof of how irreplaceable Justin "Noypi" Brownlee and Scottie Thompson, the 2021-2022 PBA Most Valuable Player, have become.
Before I call it a week, allow me to tip my cap to another Filipino athlete who just made history.
Take a bow, Alex Eala.
While Brownlee remains the gold standard among PBA imports, Eala has just served notice that she may someday become the undisputed GOAT of Philippine tennis. The 21-year-old didn't simply win her maiden WTA Tour singles title at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, D.C.—she earned it the hard way.
She battled past Qinwen Zheng in the Round of 32, Canadian-Filipina Leylah Fernandez in the Round of 16, Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, Naomi Osaka in the semifinals, and finally world No. 3 Jessica Pegula, whom she overwhelmed 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 after a rain delay.
Talk about running the gauntlet.
The reward? A career-high world No. 20 ranking—the highest ever achieved by a Filipino in WTA singles.
Me thinks Philippine tennis fans are being spoiled these days as Eala has shown the tennis world that Filipinos can conquer the sport's biggest names, too.
