Ramos got Brownlee's back in must-win Gilas match vs Iraq

MANILA, Philippines -- With naturalized player Justin Brownlee struggling mightily in a do-or-die game FIBA Asia Cup against Iraq Sunday, guard Dwight Ramos provided the spark needed by Gilas Pilipinas.

Brownlee, who is coming off a huge 37-point performance in a loss against New Zealand earlier in the week, failed to score in double digits against Iraq.

With the import struggling, Ramos stepped up, finishing with 21 points, five rebounds and an assist. He made seven of his 14 attempts from the field, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.

Ramos, after the game, said that after the Philippines’ flat start, he just became more aggressive.

“I mean, I was just trying to follow the game plan, and today, you know, when we were struggling a little bit in the first quarter, I just thought to myself that maybe I should force it a little bit,” Ramos said in an interview with One Sports, which was shown on RPTV.

“And then once everyone started playing well, everyone started knocking down shots, so all around it was a team win. Everyone played great to me, and the defense was good from the beginning, too,” he added.

The guard added that he always tries to play off of Brownlee, given the gravity the three-time PBA Best Import of the Conference's gravity.

“I already know all the teams here, if they're going to play the Philippines, their focus is on JB, so I just take it like an opportunity to use JB's presence there and just play off of him,” he said.

Brownlee had a dismal game for the Philippines. He did not make a single field goal in the first half, going 0-of-6 in the first two quarters.

He hit his first field goal – a 3-pointer – in the third quarter. He then sank a layup that gave Gilas a 55-37 lead, the biggest of the contest.

Brownlee finished with eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in 33 minutes of play.

For his part, Gilas head coach Tim Cone said that the team needs to use Brownlee, “not just a scorer”.

“We can play off of him. He does draw so much attention,” Cone told reporters.

“He’s such a tremendous player. It’s easy to sit there and watch him play. And from a teammate standpoint, we’re all sitting around and watching him play because he’s incredible. But we have to continue to learn how to use him when they’re denying him because that means they’re not in position to help when they’re double teaming him,” he added.

“There are times when we’re gonna get open. And guys just gotta step up. [Dwight] did, he just kinda stepped up and hit shots. For the most part, we did that tonight.”

Gilas thus qualified to the knockout stage of the tournament. As the third-seeded team in Group D play, the Philippines will have to go through the qualification round.

“So it was a big win for us. Just to get any win at this point is going to be a big win for us because we needed one to get under our belt. We needed to have a win to kind of rekindle our confidence, I think, and so we're happy to be moving on,” Cone said.

“We know the road is going to be tough. We know that we picked a tougher road to go, but, you know, we're ready to accept that challenge.”