Justin Brownlee offered no excuses after Ginebra witnessed the end of its rule over the PBA Governors’ Cup at the hands of TNT on Friday night.
The three-time Best Import was not at a hundred percent yet for Game 6 due to the food poisoning he suffered prior to the previous meeting. However, he does not want to use that as a reason out of respect for the work of the Tropang Giga.
“We definitely don’t want to use that as an excuse … because I don’t want to take nothing away from Talk N Text, they played an incredible series,” he told reporters moments after the 97-93 defeat at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Brownlee visibly struggled to fight through the illness that forced him to leave the second half of Game 5, never to return as Ginebra lost by way of a 104-95 decision.
He managed to recover in time for Game 6 and performed much better with 29 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, a steal, and two blocks in 45 minutes.
Unfortunately, his efforts weren’t enough, eventually absorbing his first Finals defeat after winning the first six that tied him for the most number of PBA championships by an import with all-time great Sean Chambers.
Asked how his food poisoning affected the whole outcome of the series, the 34-year-old said that unexpected turns happen in playoff series sometimes.
(C) PBA Images
“I don’t know, to be honest. You never know what could’ve happened or [if] it didn’t happen. But in a seven-game series, we’ve been on both sides.
“Even people got, last conference, the import from Bay Area got injured and they had to play all-local, so, you know, things like that happen in a series,” he said, referring to their 2022 Commissioner’s Cup Finals versus Bay Area.
“Out of seven games, anything can happen. But we definitely don’t want to use that as an excuse but a series could’ve gone either way,” he added.
Brownlee only tipped his hat to TNT, particularly to counterpart Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who had 29-14-6 in the title clincher plus two key stops in the closing seconds that prevented the resident import from tying the game up.
“When you have to battle against somebody, y’all really push each other and he definitely pushed me in playing great the whole series. Hopefully, I did the same. It was basically just mutual respect. I congratulate him,” he said.
A long offseason is on the horizon following Friday night’s result, but Brownlee and some of his Ginebra teammates will be back to work sooner as Gilas Pilipinas prepares for the 32nd Southeast Asian Games next month.
The naturalized cager, expected to banner the Filipino dribblers’ quest to reclaim lost glory in the regional meet, is looking forward to it.
“I’m excited,” he said. “We lost last year, and that’s where the motivation comes. So it’s basically understanding that the Philippines has always won gold most of the years, especially in recent past years.
“Just wanting to reclaim the gold and bring it back to the Philippines, that’s where the motivation comes.”
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The 2023 PBA Governors Cup Finals is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
