Justin Brownlee could not hold back his tears while being interviewed by the broadcast team shortly after he and Ginebra completed their ouster of TNT on Wednesday night to take the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup title.
When asked after the celebration ended, the four-time Best Import admitted that he felt overcome by emotions after reflecting on what he’s been through in his career, leading to arguably his most memorable ring yet.
“It’s everything,” he told reporters before leaving the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, which bore witness to their 88-76 Game 7 victory to overthrow the Tropang 5G rule the mid-season conference.
“I was thinking about the losses, I was thinking about the opportunity to be here. I’ve been very fortunate to play in 10 Finals. I think that type of stuff normally doesn’t happen. It’s just everything.”
The Barangay ended a three-year title drought, and in the process, Brownlee won his seventh championship, lifting himself into a class of his own.
He now has the most league titles by an import in Asia’s pioneering pro league, surpassing Alaska great Sean Chambers, who has six.
With that feat, Coach Tim Cone now believes Brownlee is the ‘GOAT’ of PBA imports. And at 38 years old, ‘JB’ feels all the more appreciative of how things turned out for him since flying into Manila a decade ago.
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“Me at 38, I just never would’ve thought that I’d be here playing, competing for championships. I’m just blessed and honored to keep playing in the PBA,” said the St. John’s product, who’s also become a Gilas Pilipinas mainstay.
The recent conference alone was full of personal challenges. He was yet again the smallest reinforcement in a field that featured a bevy of towering bigs — spearheaded, of course, by Bol Bol before he went down with an Achilles tear.
Even in the Finals, he was up against the much taller Chris McCullough, whom the Tropang 5G brought in shortly after the 7-foot-3 star got hurt.
Yet Brownlee stood the tallest at the end of it all. And the title bout became another avenue for him to show why he remains the gold standard among imports in today’s PBA.
He scored 50-plus points in Games 5 and 6, then submitted an all-around showing of 30 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists in Game 7 to finish off their long-time corporate rivals, who beat them in their last three Finals meetings.
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“With the unlimited height, it was very challenging,” he said. “Guys like Bol Bol, Jaylen Johnson, there were a lot of really good imports — James Dickey, we can’t forget about him — and it feels good. I’m kinda lost for words.
“It just feels good winning a championship. We went through a lot this year. We got guys coming down with injuries, I myself had some minor injuries,” he added.
“Just super proud of the guys, proud of the resilience, the fight.”
No wonder Brownlee turned emotional in that post-game segment. The entire celebration on the court, in fact, was full of sentimentality, especially when he shared a moment with long-time teammate Japeth Aguilar.
What did he tell his big man, he was asked? It was a reminder to make the most out of their time together, since they’re now in the twilight of their respective careers, which will forever be intertwined.
“Hopefully not, but at our age, you just never know. It could be our last run or last title. Like I said, hopefully not — I hope I don’t jinx myself,” he said with a chuckle. “But I think me and him, both at this age, have a lot left in the tank.
“God forbid serious injuries or anything like that that can knock you out for a year or maybe even longer. I was just telling him that you never know, this could be our last run, but we’re gonna keep fighting.”
