BARANGAY Ginebra import Justin Brownlee said they didn’t play with a sense of urgency at the start of Game 2 as the Gin Kings found themselves in a deadlock early in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner’s Cup finals.
The Gin Kings only scored 12 points in the first quarter, and were down by 15 entering the next period, forcing them to play catch-up all game long.
The rally looked headed to be completed when they came to within 98-94, but TNT eventually held on and pick up an important 101-94 win.
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“I’m proud of the effort coming back, but we just can’t start a game like that,” said Brownlee. "We didn’t play with a lot of fire. I guess we just got to start the game better.”
Brownlee had 24 points, eight of which coming from that first quarter but he isn't excluding himself from the blame.
“It’s the finals, so there’s no excuses, including myself. As a team, I just feel like we didn’t play with a lot of fire from the start to probably the end of that fourth quarter. I just feel like that first half, we beat ourselves,” said Brownlee.
Brownlee and company will look to bounce back for Game 3 on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“We didn’t match their energy. We didn’t match their fire. So hopefully, next game, we can be better,” said Brownlee.
Meanwhile, Brownlee was visibly favoring his shoulder during the fourth quarter of Game 2, but assured that he was okay.
“I felt something in my shoulder, but it went away. I’m good now,” said Brownlee.
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