PLAN B NEEDED?

Justin Brownlee and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) are readying medical documents that could parry a two-year ban from the sport, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) said over the weekend.

“I’ve talked to the [Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas], and to his handlers. What he’s prioritizing now is that he is able to gather medical documents—what he was prescribed for his medication when he was in the States … because we need that in case we are to appeal if opening the B-Sample [of his urine] yields another positive result,” POC president Bambol Tolentino said in Filipino during a radio interview over the weekend.

Brownlee was found positive for Carboxy-THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) by the International Testing Agency (ITA), during the Asian Games, where he led the Philippines to its first men’s basketball crown in 61 years. Brownlee’s failed drug test isn’t expected to alter the results of the event.The Inquirer reported on Saturday that the SBP has said Brownlee may have unknowingly taken prescription medicine containing cannabis in the United States while battling a nagging ankle problem that eventually required bone spurs removal.

“The main reason that [THC] gets into someone’s system is could be for medication or recreation. At times, passive exposure, for example you’re in certain environment,” noted nutritionist Jeaneth Aro said in a television interview.

“[Taking it results in] performance impairment. The metabolic performances of a person tends to become slower. … [I]t could help in the performance of an athlete through managing stress or anxiety in that context. But technically speaking, THC doesn’t really improve performance in itself.”Tolentino said that Brownlee has until Oct. 19 to decide if he will invoke his right to an appeal and oversee the process or send a representative.

Court of Arbitration for Sport “Whatever happens, the ITA, for sure, will schedule the opening of the B-Sample with or without witnesses. If that is positive again, then a two-year suspension will be implemented,” he added.

Tolentino, however, said the POC could seek relief from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

“If we can prove [Brownlee’s innocence] before the CAS panel, they might lower the suspension from one to three months,” Tolentino said.

Lawyer Mickey Ingles, an expert in sports issues, said “the math is really two years. But it can be decreased to three months to one month.”

“Under the WADA code, if you get tested positive of Caboxy-THC and you get to prove in the hearing with the CAS that you took it out of competition and it had nothing to do with sports performance, your two years can be reduced to just three months and it can be reduced to just one month suspension or ineligibility if you do, like, an antidoping seminar or training, or do a bit of rehab for it,” he said.

A similar case happened to Kiefer Ravena, who also failed a drug test back in 2018. Fiba (International Basketball Federation) reduced his ban to just 18 months.A lengthy ban will significantly hurt the cause of the national basketball program as it tries to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics through a tournament that gets going July 2.

A three-month ban, meanwhile, will derail Barangay Ginebra, his longtime club in the Philippine Basketball Association, in its defense of the Commissioner’s Cup that opens Nov. 5.

A full two-year ban would will keep Brownlee shelved up until late 2025, meaning he will be 37 when the suspension is lifted. INQ

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