JUSTIN Brownlee was limited to only 10 points on Sunday for Gilas Pilipinas no thanks to the stingy defense of New Zealand in their final game of the FIBA Asia Cup 2005 Qualifiers.
Brownlee’s production during the 87-70 loss to New Zealand was in far contrast to the 39 he made during its 91-84 defeat to Chinese Taipei last Thursday.
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New Zealand coach Judd Flavell said the team is in the process of building an identity in only his second window in charge of the Tall Blacks, and that includes building a defensive mentality.
Flavell was glad the Tall Blacks were able to show it on Sunday.
“We’ve got to build slowly and really, I think, what that looked like from the offensive point of view was just being more precise, being more fundamentally sound. From the defensive end, it is no different from what we’ve done in the past.
“We want to be up the floor. We want to be pressuring the basketball. We just can’t allow teams to feel comfortable,” said Flavell.
Flavell made special mention to the Tall Blacks’ defense on Brownlee, who went 0 of 2 from threes after making eight against Chinese Taipei.
Flavell, who coached the Tall Blacks for the first time during their 93-89 loss to the Philippines last November, said they felt it was important for his team to limit Brownlee since his performance will determine the result of the match.
“Shout out to our group and match-ups with Brownlee in particular. He was number one, the tiger guy. How he goes, I believe, is how Philippines goes in a large part. And the guys, Reuben (Te Rangi) had that match-up, Max (Darling), Jordan (Ngatai) at different times, I think, did a phenomenal job. And that’s who we are.”
“We love those match-ups. No disrespect to Brownlee, but we live for those opportunities to go ahead and have that match-up,” said Flavell.
Their effort resulted in New Zealand securing first place in Group B with a 5-1 win-loss record, avenging their only loss in the qualifiers against the Philippines, which took the second spot with a 4-2 mark.
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