Justin Brownlee. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Ginebra reinforcement Justin Brownlee felt relieved to get back at TNT after the Gin Kings got blown out by the KaTropa in the elimination round.
“They did us pretty bad last time,” Brownlee said, referring to the Gin Kings’ 121-92 loss to the KaTropa on September 23.
But more importantly for Brownlee, Ginebra’s 121-94 revenge against TNT on Monday also gave it a headstart in their best-of-5 semifinals series in the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup.
“It’s just good to start off and get the first game. We were just looking in and try to put a lot of effort, be aggressive and try to get this. We just did a good job and everybody from guys coming off the bench has played great,” he said.
The 29-year-old Brownlee also praised his teammates Joe Devance and Jervy Cruz for stepping up in the series opener.
But it’s obvious that the Gin Kings won big primarily because of Brownlee’s all-around production with 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.
“I think the main thing is just that we’re coming out with a lot of aggression on defense, where we’re not being timid or not being laid back on defense. We’re just trying to get after guys, try to pressure them, and try to dictate how we want to defend them instead of them dictating on how they want to attack us,” he said.
That defensive intensity is what forced TNT’s main guys Glen Rice and Jayson Castro to commit 13 of their squad’s 22 turnovers that led to 23 turnover points
Brownlee expects a much tougher Game 2 for the Gin Kings especially with the way they clobbered the KaTropa.
“We know TNT is a tough team. They will come out and make adjustments and we just got to be prepared. Whatever we’re running, we just gotta run it with great purpose and do what we want to do. We’ll try to keep defending them the best way we can and try to force them into things they don’t usually do,” he said.