Tim Cone Reveals Initial Shock Over Positive Doping Test of Justin Brownlee
Gilas Pilipinas head coach and Barangay Ginebra mentor Tim Cone was surprised by the news that Justin Brownlee tested positive for doping.
Cone described his initial reaction to the unfortunate news of Justin Brownlee’s positive doping test after the Asian Games as a “initial shock.” Brownlee’s test revealed the presence of the banned substance carboxy-THC, a form of cannabis, in his urine sample.
Cone recalled the moment when he and the team learned about the situation, which happened a couple of days after their return to the country. “First of all, it was a real shock. We didn’t know anything until a couple of days later when we returned to the country,” Cone said.
“I remember we were having a post-game dinner and we were all waiting for Justin (Brownlee) and Calvin (Oftana) to come to the dinner because they were left behind at the stadium because they were the ones selected to be randomly tested. We waited two to three hours for them to show up, but we had no clue that anything was going to happen at that point,” he added.
According to Cone, Brownlee was equally surprised by the situation. He emphasized that these substances are not performance-enhancing drugs that could affect an athlete’s performance. He also expressed uncertainty about how Brownlee might have brought such substances into China, as it would lead to legal consequences.
“I don’t know where it could’ve happened. It wasn’t a performance-enhancing drug, an anabolic steroid, or anything like that. There’s no way that he could bring that kind of stuff in China since he’s gonna get in trouble for trying to do that,” Cone said.
The Ginebra management decided to replace Brownlee with former Meralco import Tony Bishop for the upcoming PBA Commissioner’s Cup, which is scheduled to begin on November, based on the report. Cone mentioned their approach to handling the situation, emphasizing that they will deal with it as it unfolds.
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