Justin Brownlee could not have been more relieved on Wednesday night, as he and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel saved themselves from being swept by the romping TNT Katropa, in Game Three at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
And the 29-year-old — who finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds, three steals, and four blocks — loved the effort he saw from each and every Gin King.
“Everybody was aggressive. We’re taking shots when we’re open. Trying to get to the basket, we’re moving the ball very well. That was the key for us,” shared the versatile 6-foot-7 forward moments after the tiff.
“We played with a lot of joy, we enjoyed tonight. That’s the big key for us, continue to play with joy and play together.”
For Brownlee, TNT Katropa import Joshua Smith’s injury does not take away from the effort they put in.
“I didn’t realize. I was so locked in to the game,” said Brownlee, who is averaging 25.7 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks in the series. “But for us, we can’t focus on that.
“We can’t worry about him or the other team, and we just have to focus on what we do best and come up with a good plan — whether he’s in there or not.”
With the predicament that they are in, Brownlee hopes that they have eradicated the complacency in the team after they had clinching top seed during the elimination round.
“I think maybe we got a little complacent being first place. Since I came, in the Governor’s Cup, we were kind of like the underdogs,” the one-time PBA champion reflected.
“We played with a little chip on our shoulders being the underdogs and we’re gonna come out and play hard no matter what happens. I think it’s very helpful for us.”
Definitely, Ginebra are back to being the underdogs.
