JUSTIN Brownlee admitted he was motivated after a taunting incident with Joel Wright in Ginebra’s 116-103 win over Star in the PBA Governors’ Cup on Sunday night.
The Gin Kings import was one of the few bright spots for his team early, before getting caught in a word war with his Hotshots counterpart that sparked the fire in him.
“I had it going early and Joel was a tough opponent. And honestly, he may have got me going even more,” Brownlee admitted after the game. “Maybe it gave me a little momentum. He challenged me and I stepped up to the challenge.”
[See Ginebra goes on vintage comeback, deepens woes of Star]
Brownlee, though, said he didn’t take the incident personally.
“It’s all part of the game. I don’t take it personally,” he said. “Some players, they got their tactics and their ways of playing basketball and it’s a good way to get the crowd involved and make the game more intense.”
“So I salute him for trying to do whatever he had to do just to win the game and it was fun,” he added.
The prolific Gin Kings reinforcement had the last laugh in his individual matchup with Wright as the former finished with 38 points, eight boards, two assists, and one block, and ended up with a victory, while the latter registered 31 points, 13 boards, four steals, and three assists, but wound up with the loss.
“It was fun playing against him. He’s a talented, very athletic player,” Brownlee said. “We had trouble with him early, so I just tried to stay aggressive and did whatever I could do for the team.”
[See Patrimonio figures in verbal spat with Japeth's dad]
Wright had already left the venue when reporters tried to reach him.