Justin Brownlee takes responsibility for Gilas Pilipinas crashing out of FIBA OQT vs. Brazil

While he wasn’t the reason Gilas Pilipinas missed out on a Paris 2024 berth, Justin Brownlee feels most responsible for the Philippines’ ultimately empty trip to Riga for the 2024 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Gilas Pilipinas’ dreams for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 were dashed Sunday after a sorry semifinals loss to Brazil.

[Related: In a FIBA OQT stunner, Gilas Pilipinas Just Did It. Why not Just Do It again... and again?]

The Philippines lost even after leading by as many as 12 points in the first half, with a tough-shooting third quarter doing them in as Brazil took control of the game off the break.

"Just got to give a lot of credit to Brazil. They played us tough throughout the whole game, they played us physically. They were definitely ready for us,” Brownlee said.

"I’m not proud of the way I played, I didn’t really had a good game, I know I could play better. I felt like I let my teammates down by the way I played today so [I’m] definitely not happy,” he added.

[Related: FIBA OQT: 'Big moment guy' Justin Brownlee of NBA caliber, says coach Tim Cone]

Entering Sunday’s semifinals, Brownlee led the Riga OQT in scoring, averaging 27 points in the group phase.

However, Brownlee was limited to just 15 points on 5/16 shooting against Brazil. 15 points are the lowest from Brownlee in a Gilas uniform while playing in a FIBA tournament.

Nevertheless, Brownlee relished the opportunity to have a shot at the Olympics.

Two wins short of Paris, Gilas Pilipinas haven’t been this close to the Olympics in almost a decade. And despite falling short, Gilas will take home its win against world no. 6 Latvia, the country’s first win over a European nation in 62 years.

"[I’m] grateful for the opportunity though and I’m happy the way we played and still battled even though we were down, we showed pride,” Brownlee said.

(With reports from Nic Earnshaw/Cignal)