HANGZHOU – Justin Brownlee brought with him in the 19th Asian Games no less than the Barangay Ginebra mind-set.
The 35-year-old naturalized Filipino lifted Gilas Pilipinas when the chips were down, taking over late in their game against Iran and led the team to a thrilling 84-83 win Tuesday for a seat in the semifinal phase.
See Gilas holds nerve in face of Iran comeback, makes Asiad semifinals
Brownlee scored on a short floater at the side with 44 seconds left that put the Philippines up for good as the game came to a nerve-wracking ending at the Zijingang gymnasium.
Until that all-important basket, the Ginebra import was held scoreless after dropping 34 points in the first three quarters.
In the midst of Iran’s huge comeback from a 21-point deficit in the third period to threaten Gilas in the homestretch, Brownlee didn’t lose hope and just kept on fighting.
Credit that to his never-say-die upbringing with the Kings in the PBA.
“Just Never-Say-Die. We just want to keep fighting and had that NSD spirit,” said Brownlee, who was 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.
“In the Philippines, that NSD spirit means a lot, so we just want to keep showing that spirit even though we were tired, we were down, we just want to continue fighting.”
Iran had that inherent mentality as well, according to Brownlee, noting how the opposition fought its way back even after being down, 62-41.
“They represent their country, and I’m sure they take pride in it, just like we do,” he said.
But Gilas just proved to be the better team in the endgame.
“We just got to fight to the very end, and it ain’t going to be over until the final buzzer,” said Brownlee of the Gilas mindset.
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