Brownlee refuses to point finger at refs: ‘They make mistakes’

Justin Brownlee. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Holding on to the past isn’t something Justin Brownlee is fond of.

The Alab forward said the non-call on Singapore’s Xavier Alexander supposed travel is all water under the bridge as they now shift their focus on their future games in the ASEAN Basketball League.

“You can’t control that,” said Brownlee Wednesday at Filoil Flying V Centre. “The referees are not perfect, I’m not a perfect basketball player, so they make mistakes.”

Alexander looked to have committed a traveling violation late in the fourth quarter but escaped to drill a mid-range jumper that gave the Slingers an 84-76 lead with 2:02 left in the game. Singapore held on to bust Alab’s streak, 90-80.

“They try to do their best and I’ll try to do my best because that’s what I can control… We just need to win more games and get our rhythm back,” Brownlee added.

Alab, which now sits with a 3-4 card, came out firing earlier in the game and built a 10-2 lead at the 5:23 mark of the first period.

Singapore, however, stormed back in the second to take a 26-21 lead off a 12-2 run that AJ Mandani capped off with a three-pointer at the 5:41 mark.

And although Alab tied the game at 64-64 at the end of the third quarter, Mandani once more caught fire in the final frame and capped off the Slingers’ 11-2 run with a triple with 5:58 left.

“We came out trying to set the tone early but give credit to Singapore, coming off a loss, they just came out with a lot of energy, a lot of awareness, and they were focused,” said Brownlee after his Alab team beat the Slingers 89-80 in Singapore on Jan. 7.

“They came in, and they fought hard. They deserve it. I think we relaxed a little bit. Coming off a couple of wins, by human nature, you tend to do that.”