"I wanna thank those guys too!"
Justin Brownlee has done it all for Gilas Pilipinas. He was crucial in the victory against Iran. He has earned his place in Philippine basketball lore with the clutch threes against China.
And in the finals against Jordan, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief after helping deliver the Philippines' first Asian Games basketball gold medal in 61 years.
"Man, I can't believe it, to be honest," Brownlee told One Sports' Carlo Pamintuan. "Gotta thank God. Without Him, nothing is possible."
He thanked coach Tim Cone, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), the San Miguel Corporation (SMC), and SBP chairman emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan for "believing in not only him but the team."
"We came a long way in a short amount of time."
But Brownlee also took the effort to credit those who were unable to make the trip to Hangzhou, such as Calvin Abueva, Terrence Romeo, Mo Tautuaa, and Jason Perkins.
Cone initially requested to have Abueva and Perkins on the roster, while Romeo and Tautuaa were on the first 60-man list submitted to the Asian Games organizers. However, all four were not on a second 37-man list held by China.
This led to the last-minute call-up for Cjay Perez, Kevin Alas, Chris Ross, and Arvin Tolentino, along with Marcio Lassiter who replaced an ailing RR Pogoy.
It got to the point that Abueva, Romeo, Tautuaa, and Perkins were practicing with the squad even though they were unsure if they would make it.
"I wanna thank those guys too. They were shooting for us, getting us prepared. They came to practice every day, played hard," Brownlee said. "Wanna shout out those guys because they were supposed to be here."
Their presence was very much felt apparently, as the four were still sending messages in their group chat.
"They earned this medal as much as we did," Brownlee said.
(With reports from Carlo Pamintuan, Nic Earnshaw, One Sports)
(CF)