TNT put the clamps on Justin Brownlee on a rare off night for the Barangay Ginebra import on Wednesday in the PBA Governors’ Cup finals.
Brownlee struggled on offense after finishing with 12 points, shooting just 3 of 16 from the field and missing all his five threes in Game Two won by TNT, 95-82.
The 12-point effort of Brownlee was a conference low, while his 0-for-5 shooting from the perimeter ended a 77-game streak with at least one three-pointer, according to PBA statistics chief Fidel Mangonon.
Who was responsible for shackling Justin Brownlee?
TNT coach Jojo Lastimosa credited his import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson for the uncharacteristically low production of Brownlee.
“The guy here put all his energy on defending Brownlee,” said Lastimosa, referring to Hollis-Jefferson, who was with him during the postgame press conference.
Hollis-Jefferson, who drew flak from some Ginebra fans for his “I’m good” statement when he played against Brownlee in the elimination round, had an all-around game with 23 points, 19 rebounds, and nine assists.
The marching orders though for Hollis-Jefferson was to contain Brownlee, and leave the offense to the locals.
“I told Rondae at halftime that even if he doesn’t score that much, for as long as Brownlee doesn’t score, other guys are going to pick up the scoring. He did some scoring in the second half which was a good thing. But Rondae took the challenge of guarding Brownlee pretty much the whole game,” said Lastimosa.
Hollis-Jefferson, however, deflected the credit as it was a total team effort in Game Two.
“You have to give credit to everybody. Everybody played their role. Everybody did an excellent job. Matt, Glenn, everybody played a significant role in today’s team. It’s not Roger got hot, I played defense. It was a collective effort from the coaches to the players,” said Hollis-Jefferson.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
