Justin Brownlee has been a marked man ever since being named the designated naturalized player for Gilas Pilipinas Men in this Olympic cycle.
In 18 games for Gilas prior to Window 2 of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers, the 6-foot-7 forward averaged 22.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game.
However, he struggled against New Zealand on Thursday evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The 37-year-old from Tifton, Georgia, managed just four points on 2-of-10 shooting, adding six rebounds, two assists, and four turnovers.
Despite Brownlee’s struggles, Gilas narrowly fell to the Tall Blacks, 66-69 — their first loss in the qualifiers.
Justin Brownlee’s four-point performance was a glaring weak spot in Gilas Pilipinas’ loss. But head coach Tim Cone downplayed the shooting slump, attributing it to New Zealand’s meticulous game planning aimed specifically at Brownlee.
“People are gonna point at the game and say he only had four points, but that was strictly through the game planning of New Zealand,” Cone said.
Even with an off night offensively, Cone praised Brownlee’s effort on the defensive end.
“Justin did a great job defensively,” the decorated head coach said.
Brownlee primarily guarded Max Darling and Jordan Ngatai throughout the game.
Darling, who averaged 8.2 points and 5.0 rebounds during the Asia Cup, finished with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Then Ngatai, who averaged 7.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in the continental meet, found himself held to just three points on 1-of-8 shooting.
Compared to their previous four match-ups over the past 15 months, New Zealand doubled down on their defensive focus on the naturalized Filipino.
“They also did a really good job of doubling Justin, denying him touches,” Cone noted.
With Brownlee’s usual offensive output missing, Cone lauded his guards Dwight Ramos and CJ Perez for stepping up, scoring 16 and 15 points, respectively.
“We needed another guy to step up, and CJ did, Dwight did. But when it came down to big plays, making a big shot, we weren’t able to do that at crucial times,” he remarked.
