Ginebra import Justin Brownlee. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–Barangay Ginebra settled for the No. 3 seed in the PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday night and will now battle No. 6 NLEX in the quarterfinals.
But somehow, resident import Justin Brownlee doesn’t see the defending champions as heavy favorites against the Road Warriors.
“We know it’s going to be tough,” he told reporters on the heels of a 114-105 loss to TNT at Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
“At this point, it doesn’t matter [whom] we play. No. 8, 7th seed, sixth or (number) five, whatever.”
Not even a twice-to-beat protection is making Brownlee feel good about Ginebra’s chances in the duel against NLEX set this Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“At this point, any game we play is not going to be easy, and we understand that,” he said.
The loss to eventual top seed TNT also showed flaws in Ginebra’s game and Brownlee could only hope that his crew is able to smoothen the gaps just before it plunges back into action.
“Overall we did a great job, but that last portion of the fourth quarter really hurt us. And our focus went down a little bit, and TNT did a good job taking advantage of that,” he said.
“We’re a veteran team. I think we should’ve been smarter and made [less] turnovers.”
Brownlee, who has been integral in Barangay Ginebra’s stranglehold of the third conference, also said there’s only one way to chart this title-retention bid.
“No high expectations, just one win over [whoever] we play,” he said.