Justin Brownlee may have poured 31 points for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in Game Two of their 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup semis affair with the Magnolia Hotshots on Monday, but he did not collect that with ease.
And he has Rome Dela Rosa to blame for that.
Before going rogue late in the final frame – where he scored eight in the Gin Kings’ 14-4 rally that cut a 12-point Magnolia lead to just two – Brownlee only shot 6-of-13 from the floor in the first three periods as Dela Rosa was all over him.
The 2018 Commissioner’s Cup Best Import finished the night with 11-of-20 field goal shooting, along with 12 rebounds and seven assists. Brownlee, however, committed five of the Barangay’s 23 turnovers.
The Gin Kings lost, 97-101, and are now down 0-2 in the best-of-five series.
“I think he is the best match-up for Brownlee sa lineup namin.
“Sabi ko nga kay Rome if you can’t stop Brownlee, at least limit yung kanyang scoring or yung mga ginagawa niya,” said Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero – this, even if De La Rosa is giving up a good two inches against Brownlee.
“Malaking tulong na sa’min yun,” added the second-year Hotshots coach. “We know hindi namin ma-stop si Brownlee talaga, kailangan lang ma-limit namin.”
“I just had the right mindset coming into the game.
“I had to focus on guarding Brownlee. My focus is just to make it harder for him,” said Dela Rosa, who produced 11 points and three rebounds in the win.
“He’s a great import, and watching him play – he can make a lot of plays for the team – so [I] had to go in there, make it harder for him. Although he scored 31, I just tried to make sure he doesn’t get it easy,” added the San Beda product.
Limiting Brownlee in Game Three this Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum is again on top of Dela Rosa’s priority list, as he and the Hotshots aim to close out the series to head to their second Finals this season.
But the second-generation cager knows it won’t be that easy.
“It’s gonna take a whole lot. Ginebra’s a champion team, they’re well-coached, they got players who have championship experience, so we gotta still bring our A-game. It’s gonna start with defense and our effort as always,” said the 27-year-old Dela Rosa.
“This is usually the toughest game – closing the series. So we just have to be ready and we have to match their intensity or even surpass it.”
