Jan 16, 2020

Brownlee more motivated winning title than Best Import plum

JUSTINE Brownlee's near triple-double effort in Barangay Ginebra's huge Game 4 win over Meralco in the PBA Governors' Cup finals wasn't his way of proving he deserved the Best Import award more than Allen Durham did.

It's actually more of him towing the Kings closer to regaining the season-ending championship which slipped out of their hands in 2018.

No more, no less.

"I'm super motivated ever since last year that we lost in this conference," said Brownlee following another yeoman's job of 27 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, and five steals in the Kings' 94-72 win over the Bolts in Game 4 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

"We're back and we're exactly where we want to be at right now."

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Brownlee and the Kings failed to defend the Governors Cup championship they won in back-to-back fashion in 2016 and 2017 after losing to eventual winner Magnolia Hotshots during the semifinals of the same conference two years ago.

Now, they are just a win away from regaining the crown after posting a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Bolts on Wednesday night.

That somehow consoled Brownlee after losing the Best Import award to Durham for the third time in four seasons.

But Ginebra's resident import doesn't lose a sleep about it.

"It would have been great to win it, but Allen, after everything, he deserved it," said the ever humble Brownlee.

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"Every time he's here in the Philippines, he elevated his team and have them playing great basketball. I think they're playing at the highest level so I think he deserve it," added the Ginebra reinforcement. "You know he fought for it, and he deserved it."
For Brownlee, the bottom is still about winning the title.

"We definitely want to end this thing on Friday and not allow them to get any kind of rhythm or any momentum going further," he said. (RG)