Justin Brownlee was not his usual self against Iraq, but it didn't matter as Dwight Ramos came to Gilas' rescue to nab the W in their FIBA Asia Cup clash.
Justin Brownlee struggled offensively in the first half against Iraq, coughing up just a single point in nearly 16 minutes on the floor.
Gilas Pilipinas then turned to the other pieces in their arsenal.
That's when Dwight Ramos took charge, hitting the game-tying trey for a 33-all standoff at the end of the second quarter and firing 10 points in the third, including back-to-back treys that sparked the Nationals' breakaway en route to a 66-57 victory.
“Dwight, he had it going. We kind of fed off his energy that he had in the third and fourth quarters. We just rolled it out,” Brownlee said.
[RELATED STORY: With Brownlee limited, Dwight Ramos steps up as Gilas logs 1st win vs Iraq in FIBA Asia Cup]
Ramos topscored with 21 to lead Gilas, who finally won after back-to-back losses to Chinese Taipei and New Zealand in Group D.
He also had five rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Meanwhile, Brownlee finished with eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.
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But as brilliant as his teammate's outing was, Brownlee cited the Filipino dribblers' collective effort on defense in the much-needed victory, which saw them lead by as many as 18 points.
“It's just the team's all-around [effort],” said Brownlee, who averaged 28 points in Gilas' first two defeats.
“We've just got to give a lot of credit to our defense. Everybody came in the game ready and really stepped up in an amazing way on defense.