During last year’s Commissioner’s Cup, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel stuck to their game plan of fielding Justin Brownlee as their import. Without Greg Slaughter at the time, the 6-foot-5 American had to take on the giants of the league all by himself.
This time around, a healthy Ginebra lineup have Japeth Aguilar and Slaughter to fortify their frontline. And it has made life much easier for Brownlee.
Monday evening, the plethora of Ginebra big men flooded 6-foot-9 Meralco Bolts import Arinze Onuaku all night long, limiting him to just 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting. Onuaku averaged 17.91 points per game during the elimination round.
“I thought Greg did a great job on Onuaku tonight. Japeth came out and got a couple of steals from the post,” mused Ginebra head coach Tim Cone.
“We gotta give Greg and Japeth some credit for defending him. Greg played him real smart tonight.”
“It makes my job a whole lot better tonight. Greg played really well tonight. Japeth denied him really well while Greg used his size to distract him,” added Brownlee, who had 25 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks in Ginebra’s 88-81 Game 1 win. “It’s not really going to be one guy, it’s going to take team effort.
“Tonight, we played well as a team.”
The two-time PBA and one-time ABL champion is bracing for a big game from Onuaku come Game Two.
“They’re a tough team and it’s not going to be easy. I respect them and Onuaku. We expect him to have a big game. He didn’t score well tonight but he did rebound well and other things,” Brownlee pointed out.
“We look for him to have a great game against us.”
