Justin Brownlee became only the fifth import in PBA history to pass the 5,000-point mark after racking up 38 in Barangay Ginebra's 103-80 win over Magnolia Hotshots in Game 3 of their 2022-23 Commissioner's Cup semifinal on Sunday.
Dec 18, 2022, 09:45 AM ET
As Barangay Ginebra moved to the cusp of another finals appearance and resident import Justin Brownlee marked another milestone in his PBA career, coach Tim Cone couldn't help but marvel at how much his player had grown since he first arrived here in 2016.
"That's what's striking about Justin, is that he's a completely different player now that he was when he first came," Cone said after Ginebra routed Magnolia Hotshots, 103-80, to take a 2-1 series lead in their Commissioner's Cup semifinal series Sunday night.
"We were looking at some old video because we were looking at some old triangle that he was running, and he didn't look like he looks now at all. He was big and you know, big-bodied and little, if I may say chubby, and don't tell him I said that. But he was a stretch 4 but he has continually worked and worked and worked on his game.
"You've got to give him so much credit because he comes in with a new skill almost every conference. And you see him you see him grow, you see him get better all the time. He has to, with all the defenses that are thrown at him."
Brownlee scored 38 against the Hotshots, and in the process became just the fifth import in PBA history to record over 5,000 career points. The other four are Norman Black, Bobby Parks, Sean Chambers and Lew Massey.
"It just really means I've been playing a long time here," he said when asked about it. "But just I'm enjoying it, five players on the top five in scoring.
"To be mentioned with those guys now, it's definitely a great achievement for myself. But just to top it off with a win, it was a great win for us tonight. It's a testament to my teammates, either setting me up or giving me confidence, and coach Tim.
"They helped me through throughout my career here. So just gotta give a lot of credit to the whole Ginebra organization and team."
Ginebra has won five titles with Brownlee as its import, the most famous of which was the 2016 Governors' Cup where the American, playing in his very first PBA conference, knocked down a triple at the buzzer of Game 6 to win it all over Meralco Bolts. That shot not only gave the franchise its first championship in eight years, it also made Brownlee a Ginebra legend and kicked off a semi-dynastic run for the team.
Of course, everybody knows that Brownlee wasn't Ginebra's first choice that conference. But Cone was left scrambling for a replacement after original import Paul Harris fractured his thumb early in the tournament.
"We were really unfortunate because our guy broke his thumb right there and it was a nasty injury," Cone recalled. "And so we were kind of in a panic and I called (player agent) Sheryl Reyes at that time.
"And she gave me a list of names to bring over. And I remember this so vividly because I'm on the phone. I'm in a panic. I'm calling her, she's in Las Vegas because the summer league is going on in Las Vegas. And so she's giving me these names.
"And I go, 'Yeah, I know him but I don't think he'd fit,' and then she gave another one and I don't know him and then another one. And she I think she gave me four full names. And then at the end of the fourth full name, she said, 'Oh, also Justin Brownlee is walking around and he's not in the summer league, he's just around here. I just saw him.'
"I had scouted Justin previously and tried to bring him over (for San Mig Coffee). I said if Justin could get on a plane in 48 hours, then we'll take him. So apparently she ran all over the summer league trying to find Justin and was able to locate him and asked him he wanted to come to the Philippines."
Brownlee agreed, and six years later, he's scored over 5,000 points and Ginebra has five more championships. Through it all, Cone has seen him improve year in and year out.
"The PBA has forced him to continually work and work on his game because the way they play him, they come up with a new thing all the time," added Cone. "He's now a better ball handler. He's better off the dribble. He's really good at the pull-up."