The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel had plenty of reasons to celebrate on Sunday night. They now have a favorable 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series with the Meralco Bolts, moving them two wins away from repeating as Governor’s Cup champions.
But despite that, Justin Brownlee remains far from satisfied.
“Still not satisfied,” said the American reinforcement, who had 19 points and 13 rebounds in their 86-76 come-from-behind win, “We know what type of team Meralco is.
“We know they gonna keep fighting, they’re not gonna give up.”
Game Two was far from the showing the Gin Kings had in the series opener last Friday. This time, they were at a disadvantage for most of the match. But come crunchtime, they were able to rally back behind big plays by Brownlee and runningmate LA Tenorio to stun the Bolts.
“Fortunately for us, we came away with some big plays. We came away with the big stops. And we came away with the win,” lauded Brownlee.
Brownlee also took time to give credit to the Bolts’ defensive schemes. His output in Game Two was clearly far from what he had produced in Game One — 32 points on 65 percent shooting, alongside 19 rebounds and six assists.
“In Game One they played me tough. Tonight they played me tough as well,” he said. “I just try to make good looks, great opportunities. But I didn’t make shots tonight. I think they’re gonna continue making a good job defending me.”
Now, the Barangay have a chance to make it a 3-0 series lead on Wednesday. They know that it will be a tough task to accomplish, but for Brownlee, all that he hopes to see in Game Three is the same form they had this Sunday.
“Same way. Everybody,” said the Georgia-native. “They played everybody physically today. They tried to go at passing lanes, they tried to disrupt our offense. I think the whole team did a good job keeping our composure. Being patient.
“In the end, we just finished strong. That’s been the key tonight.”
