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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Live and die with Justin Brownlee

Live and die with Justin Brownlee

Published Jun 13, 2026 01:11 pm

At A Glance

  • Brownlee exploded for a career-high 54 points, highlighted by 14 straight points bridging the fourth and the overtime periods. The Ginebra resident import even ended the regulation with nine straight points to tie the game at 89-all after trailing 87-80 with a little more than three minutes left in the fourth.

Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone warned his team against being over-reliant on Justin Brownlee after losing Game 4.

But the Kings did exactly just that in Game 5 as Brownlee towed his team to a nail-biting 100-95 overtime win against the TNT Tropang 5G to take a 3-2 series lead in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Finals.

Brownlee exploded for a career-high 54 points, highlighted by 14 straight points bridging the fourth and the overtime periods. The Ginebra resident import even ended the regulation with nine straight points to tie the game at 89-all after trailing 87-80 with a little more than three minutes left in the fourth.

“What did I say after the last game? I think I said we shouldn’t be so Justin-centric. And what happens? He comes out and hits 54 tonight,” said Cone.

But looking at the way TNT has defended Ginebra so far, it seems like the Tropang 5G are fine with Brownlee doing the heavy lifting as long as the Kings locals like Scottie Thompson and RJ Abarrientos remain in check.

TNT wants Ginebra to live and die with Brownlee — a risk that head coach Chot Reyes seemed to be willing to take.

“The way they are defending us, they’re putting pressure on Justin to win games by himself. They are putting a guy on that Justin knows he can attack and they are denying on everybody else, really forcing Justin to go one-on-one and do his thing,” said Cone.

“We really have no recourse but to allow it to happen. Otherwise, we are not going to get anything done. It’s really the way they are defending,” added the veteran mentor, noting that it was pretty much the same plan Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao did in their previous series.

“That’s why I’m saying that we have to figure out a different way because the whole point, just like Yeng Guiao stated in the last series, is to wear Justin down where he is no longer effective in Game 6 and Game 7. That’s why I’m saying that we can’t be Justin-centric,” he explained.

But TNT’s ploy is something Cone and the rest of the Kings are willing to take. For one, Brownlee is no ordinary import, having won six PBA titles and four Best Import plums.

“When it comes to winning, you do what you have to do to win. And this was a big game,” said Cone.

Related Tags

Justin Brownlee Ginebra Gin Kings Barangay Ginebra TNT Tropang 5G PBA Finals
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