Just another day in the office for Mr. Brownlee.
Justin Brownlee has made a habit of saving Barangay Ginebra San Miguel from the jaws of defeat.
And he did it again on Wednesday versus the San Miguel Beermen to put the finishing touches on Ginebra’s thrilling 87-85 victory over the Beermen in Game 3 of their PBA Governors' Cup semifinals showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone is hardly surprised—even with Brownlee struggling for much of the game.
“We have trust in Justin,” Cone proclaimed to the media in the post-game presser. “He struggled all game. We all saw it. And then he’s Michael Jordan in the last two minutes of the basketball game. It’s kinda typical of Justin and what we’ve come to expect from him.”
What Ginebra and Cone have come to expect, in particular, is Brownlee making all the right plays to help Ginebra win a game—especially one of the magnitude of a semis closeout.
“Justin is gonna make the play. That’s kind of different with all the other imports. He’ll go out to make the winning play, not the winning shot,” Cone explained. “Sometimes, it will be the winning shot, but he’ll go out there and make the winning play, whether it be a pass, whether it be a screen, or whether it be a rebound. He’ll make the winning play and that’s what makes him special.”
Against San Miguel, Brownlee made two such plays in the final minute of Game 3. The first was a top of the key jumper under heavy duress to give the defending champs an 85-82 cushion with just 39 ticks remaining. The other was a game-winning shovel pass to a wide-open Christian Standhardinger underneath the basket—even when he could have just taken another contested pull-up, this time from the block.
But as he has done multiple times in the past, Brownlee chose to make the right play. Again.
And now Ginebra is back in the finals, with a golden chance to win another title.