Justin Brownlee leads Gilas Pilipinas’ rout of host Latvia to open the Filipinos’ Fiba OQT campaign. –FIBA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Kai Sotto was all praise for Justin Brownlee, who once again played the hero for Gilas Pilipinas in its 89-80 shocker of world No. 6 and host Latvia in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) on Thursday.
Sotto even went on to say that his naturalized teammate is the “Michael Jordan of Philippine basketball.”
Brownlee, also the hero in the Gilas’ historic gold medal run in the Asian Games last year, scored six straight points highlighted with a four-point play to give the visitors an 85-71 with over three minutes left.
SCHEDULE: Gilas Pilipinas at Fiba OQT in Riga, Latvia
“The world doesn’t really know much about Justin Brownlee. But for me, he’s the Michael Jordan of Philippine Basketball,” said Sotto, who also stepped up for the Filipinos with 18 points and eight rebounds, in an interview with Fiba.com
Brownlee and Sotto paved the way for the Philippines’ first win against a European team in a Fiba-sanctioned tournament since 1960.
The 22-year-old Sotto was confident that Brownlee would deliver when it mattered most, restoring the order for Gilas when Latvia fought its way back from a 26-point deficit and cut it down to 79-69 midway through the fourth quarter.
Justin Brownlee soars for a slam in Gilas Pilipinas’ Fiba OQT win against Latvia. –FIBA BASKETBALL
“That’s what we expect him to do and that’s what he does every night,” said Sotto, who first teamed up with Brownlee at Gilas Pilipinas in the first window of the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers early this year.
“He just goes out there with his A-game every single night. He’s a great teammate. He’s a great player and we’re very blessed. We’re very lucky to have him.”
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Brownlee flirted with a triple-double with 26 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists.
Sotto, who has been thriving under coach Tim Cone’s tutelage at Gilas Pilipinas, relished surpassing the Filipinos’ first test of the Fiba OQT on the road to the Paris Olympics.
“It’s a really great game tonight. We all know how great Latvia is and we really prepared hard against Latvia and their players. I think we just came out strong tonight and we had some rough couple of minutes in the second half but we just hung on and believed in each other, we just followed coach Tim [Cone],” he said.
“I’m very blessed and happy that we got the win tonight and no one got injured. I’m just happy that everyone contributed to the win.”
Sotto and Gilas Pilipinas have no time to celebrate their historic win as they shift their focus against Georgia on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. (Manila time).