Justin Brownlee of the Ginebra Gin Kings during a PBA Governors Cup game against Rain or Shine. –PBA Images
MANILA, Philippines — Instead of beating his chest and celebrating after another stellar game, Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee looked at it as one of those nights where everything went just right.
In Group B of the PBA Governors’ Cup, the Gin Kings, powered by a stellar performance by their local player, defeated Rain or Shine, 124-102, at the Araneta Coliseum on Friday.
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However, Brownlie brushed aside all the praise, saying he was thankful to his teammates for giving him the opportunity to score the way he did.
READ: PBA: Ginebra bounces back with rout win in Rain or Shine
“I think we have a lot of guys that can score and shoot the ball and that’s shown in our last couple of games. I know guys struggled at first, maybe they were adjusting but we have a lot of guys that can score,” Brownlee said.
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“I think we’ve found a really good balance. Some nights can be any player’s night like Japeth (Aguilar), Stephen (Holt) and Scottie (Thompson). For us, we have to continue to be a defense-first team and then the aggression will come.”
Brownlee had another monstrous double-double with 40 points and 10 rebounds on a 68.4 percent shooting clip.
Reading: PBA: There’s no reason not to trust the Ginebra system
According to Gilas’ natural player, Ginebra has seen several players step up in different periods of time, but none of them played the role of “key player” in more than two straight games.
In the Gin Kings’ previous win over Blackwater, Scottie Thompson stole the spotlight with a triple-double of 21 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
But watching Brownlee shirk his own praise was nothing new for coach Tim Cone.
Cone has had his share of tough times with Brownlee, and he isn’t surprised to see his longtime teammate pass the buck to his teammates instead of taking credit for it.
“He doesn’t care whether he gets the credit or not,” the veteran tactician said after leading his side to a 5-2 lead in Group B.
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“Some nights he goes out there and makes a great defensive play, he’s not looking for credit at all. He doesn’t care about credit at all; he cares about winning.”
