Brownlee not the lone headache for TNT as Ginebra locals prove caliber

MANILA, Philippines — The mercurial Justin Browlee is not the be-all and end-all for the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings in their PBA Governors’ Cup title mission against the TNT Tropang Giga.

Take him out of the equation and it won’t necessarily spell doom for the Gin Kings, whose Game 1 exploits at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday saw their locals proving they are as equally deadly as their long-time, do-it-all reinforcement.

Browlee finished with 31 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks as Ginebra rolled to a 102-90 victory to draw first blood against TNT in their best-of-seven series, but he is just one part of what makes the Gin King Kings a tough nut to crack.

The six-time PBA champion and three-time Best Import awardee was virtually unstoppable on the floor in Game 1, shrugging off whoever TNT put on him on defense as he was able to do anything he liked, scoring at will or using switches to enable a teammate to convert.

But even the great Brownlee succumbs to fatigue, and he had to be taken out early in the fourth period with the Gin Kings enjoying a double-digit lead that TNT could have had wiped out with him on the bench.

“We really needed Justin to take a break. You could see him kind of gasping for air a little bit, (and) he's a little slower getting back on defense,” Ginebra coach Tim Cone recalled at the post-game presser. 

“And so when he got his fourth foul, it kind of forced our hand and we said 'okay, now is the time, let's do it now'. I think we had a 12-point lead or 10-point lead at that time so we had a little bit of a cushion,” he added.

It was TNT’s golden opportunity to trim Ginebra’s lead and make a fight out of it. Instead, they met stiff resistance from the Gin King’s all-Filipino lineup on the floor that time.

Stanley Pringle, who came off the bench, hit a triple with 8:08 in the game as the Gin Kings' lead ballooned to 18, 87-69.

Ginebra’s locals successfully stood their ground with Brownlee riding the bench, and Cone couldn’t be more pleased.

“But we're just hoping that the guys will hold the fort until he (Brownlee) came back, but they went out and (even) extended the lead. Jamie (Malonzo) hit a big shot, made a big pass to Christian (Standhardinger). We made a couple of stops against the import. AJ (Mariano) defended the import extremely well,” said Cone.

Malonzo led Ginebra locals with 21 points followed by Christian Standhardinger — many times the beneficiary of Brownlee’s assists off successful switch plays — with 16.

Scottie Thompson had another day at the office with a triple-double of 10 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists.

Pringle, who is slowly easing his way into Ginebra’s rotation, contributed 11 points as a substitute. But Cone is no way seeing the veteran Pringle as a Sixth Man.

“Stanley, we don't think of him as a bench player. He's a starter coming off the bench. We just try to keep his minutes at a certain level as he continues to build his body back,” Cone said of Pringle, who is coming off a knee injury.

“Having him off the bench is an incredible luxury.”

While TNT rode on the offensive contributions of import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (30 points), Mikey Williams (23) and Calvin Oftana (16), the conference leader has some work to do on the defensive end.

It is already a huge headache for the Tropang Giga to try to contain Brownlee throughout the series.

And yet TNT will nurse an even nastier migraine if Ginebra’s locals continue to shine while their best player sits on the bench.