Gilas’ ‘cheat code’ Justin Brownlee provides answers for PH
Gilas’ Justin Brownlee.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—It’s no secret that Justin Brownlee is Gilas Pilipinas’ main man in the Asian Games.
Brownlee came up big in Gilas’ 86-81 win over the Changwon LG Sakers in an exhibition at Philsports Arena on Friday, prompting Cone to describe the prolific forward as the Philippine team’s cheat code.
“He’s like our kodigo (cheat code). We can always rely on him. We can always go to him and he’s our closer,” Cone said.
“Whenever we need buckets down the stretch, we know we can go to him.”
Brownlee had his fingerprints all over the victory, finishing with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists. He also sank two triples in the process.
Gilas’ Justin Brownlee.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
His performance actually surprised Cone, who did not expect Brownlee and the rest of Gilas to play as well as they did against the Korean Basketball League club.
“In my book, we played better than I thought we would. But that’s a little scary, because again, you don’t judge it by one game.”
“The key is—and this was what’s important about this game—the players got a little belief in each other. They started to believe a little bit in each other that maybe we could do something.”
Calvin Oftana also shone for Gilas with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
