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| Justin Brownlee set or helped set PBA records previously tallied by Ginebra legend Carlos Briggs. Peter Baltazar (file photo) |
QUEZON CITY—Even at age 38, Justin Brownlee showed that he is still far from being "washed" as he put up a series of explosions never before seen in the PBA in a long while.
In Game 5 of the Commissioner's Cup Finals, Ginebra's resident import caught fire for a career-high 54 points to lead the team to a 100-95 win.
Two nights later, Brownlee sizzled for 52 on 23-for-33 field goals, even as he too carried the fight for the Gin Kings in what would have been the title clincher.
"We just want to go out there and win. We want to put our best foot forward, and I want to play the best as I could for the team," Brownlee said after the Game 6 explosion.
According to Chief Statistician Fidel Mangonon, the last time a player scored 52 points on back-to-back finals games was way back in 1989, when another prolific scorer took over for the club.
Enter Carlos Briggs.
The six-foot-one combo guard did not just score that many points in two straight games but did so in all five matches of the 1989 PBA Reinforced Conference Finals between the Ginebra franchise, previously known as Añejo, and San Miguel.
Mangonon added that within that five-game span of 52 or more, Briggs fired 84 points in Game 2, which remains the PBA record for the most points scored in a finals game.
He then engaged in a shootout with the Beermen's import that time, Ennis Whatley, that was only matched by Brownlee and Chris McCullough on Sunday night.
In Game 4 of the Añejo-SMB series, Briggs dropped 60 points, while Whatley scored exactly 50 in the last time both finalists each had 50-point scorers before Brownlee had 52 and McCullough scored 53 in Game 6 of the ongoing finals between the Añejo club now known by its more popular Barangay Ginebra name and TNT.
However, just like Briggs' eye-popping PBA moments, Brownlee's herculean efforts fell short as the Gin Kings missed their first chance to close it out against the Tropang 5G.
"Unfortunately, we fell short. We got to regroup," Brownlee further said.
"C-Mac was able to stay in step with him, and I think that's basically the key," coach Chot Reyes said about McCullough successfully countering Brownlee's explosiveness
Reyes added that TNT was successful in making Ginebra go "Justin-centric" again, just like coach Tim Cone's concerns after Game 5.
"That's really the game plan: to force Justin to work for his points but to make sure none of the locals get going," Reyes said.
With the finals heading to one rubber match on Wednesday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, fans may see one final explosion from either Brownlee, McCullough, or even both of them.
However, for Brownlee, who has been in many title deciders since joining the PBA in 2016, Game 7 is no more unusual.
"I think all Game 7s are alike. I don't think there's any major difference. Just a new year and conference, I guess. It's just going to be a hard-fought game. That's all we can expect," Brownlee further said.
