Brownlee stands tall, proud vs New Zealand

MANILA, Philippines — The euphoria of the Philippines’ 93-89 shocker over long-time tormentor New Zealand in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers worked as a balm for wounded Justin Brownlee.

Reeling from Barangay Ginebra’s setback to TNT in the PBA Governors’ Cup finals, Brownlee focused on Gilas Pilipinas duties and used such failure as motivation for Thursday’s major battle with NZ.

“For sure (I’m motivated),” said JB, who accounted for 26 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals in the toppling of the Tall Blacks.

“Anytime you lose in basketball or anything, you always want to try to bounce back and be better. Playing in the (PBA) finals and losing, it was definitely a great lesson. I learned a lot. But it definitely feels good to just come here and play with Gilas and get a win over New Zealand.”

Brownlee said he’s “super proud of our guys” for handling the test posed by powerhouse NZ well.

“Coach Tim (Cone), he came in with a great game plan for us. We’ve been in Inspire camp (in Laguna) for the past week, doing two (practices) a day, so I think we prepared very well,” he said.

“New Zealand, they always come and play hard, playing physical and tough, so give a lot of credit to them. But I’m just super proud of our guys, the team and the whole coaching staff and the whole Philippines.”