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Barangay Ginebra import Justin Brownlee fires blanks in a blowout loss as TNT closes in on defending its PBA Governors’ Cup throne
MANILA, Philippines – Justin Brownlee skied for a routine dunk early in the second quarter of Game 5 of the PBA Governors’ Cup finals, but the ball rattled off the rim and went out of bounce.
That play summed up a horror night for the three-time Best Import, who got contained to a PBA career-low 8 points in a 99-72 defeat that allowed TNT to grab a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series on Wednesday, November 6.
Brownlee shot 3-of-13 from the field as he failed to breach double-figure scoring for the first time since he started his PBA career in 2016, according to league chief statistician Fidel Mangonon.
It was a stark contrast to his performance in their Game 4 win, where Brownlee erupted for 34 points on an ultra-efficient 11-of-16 clip.
Starting Game 5 slow, Brownlee scored just 2 points in the opening quarter then ended the first half with only 6 points as the Tropang Giga mounted a commanding 56-33 cushion.
Brownlee added just 2 more points in the second half before he got subbed out with three minutes remaining in the third quarter and never returned.
With Brownlee held to one of his worst PBA performances, the Gin Kings scored under 80 points for the first time in this playoffs and absorbed their most lopsided loss since a 131-82 defeat to San Miguel in the eliminations.
But TNT does not count on Brownlee to continue his struggles as coach Tim Cone and Ginebra seek to force a sudden death in Game 6 on Friday, November 8, at the Araneta Coliseum.
“We know that’s not going to persist in the next game. Coach Tim already rested him early. Kind of preparing him for a one-step-backward, two-steps-forward attack in the next game,” said Tropang Giga coach Chot Reyes.
“So we just need to be ready. We know he’s going to come out hard as is the entire Ginebra team. So we just need to make sure that we stay on our toes and be prepared for a big Ginebra fightback in the next game.”
Except for Game 4, TNT has done a fine defensive job against Brownlee, who averages 20.4 points in the series — a major drop from the 28.3 points he normed through the semifinals.
His decline in production has been a major blow for the Gin Kings, whose fast-paced offense has slowed down as they average just 87 points in the finals.
Before this series, Ginebra averaged a whopping 111.7 points from the quarterfinals to the semifinals.
The Gin Kings, though, refuse to dwell on the blowout as they look to stay alive.
“I know our fans feel bad about it, everybody feels bad about it, our team feels bad about it. But the bottomline is it’s just one game in a series,” said Cone.
“We just got to move on, get ready for Game 6, and see what we can do in Game 6.” – Rappler.com
