Justin Brownlee was all praises for the Gin Kings coaching staff for preparing them to face the San Miguel Beermen in their first game of 2025 in the PBA Commissioner's Cup.
Ginebra import Justin Brownlee deflected the credit for handily beating the San Miguel Beermen over to the Gin Kings coaching staff, as they ran away with a 93-81 victory in their first game of the year in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday night.
Brownlee, who was playing while being under the weather, said that the coaching staff had prepared them mightily for San Miguel, while also shaking off the rust after the Holiday break — having last played on Christmas Day.
[RELATED: Ginebra opens 2025 with triumph over San Miguel in PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup]
The Gin Kings hit the ground running, thanks to a reliable game from Brownlee and a surprise team-high performance from Troy Rosario. For Brownlee, it was all in the details of how they were prepared for the matchup against the defending champions.
“San Miguel is a tough opponent and we knew that coming in, just gotta give a lot of credit to the staff. They had a great game plan. We executed the best way we can and it seemed like we had all the answers to the test,” said Brownlee after the game.
“We just gotta credit it to the coaching staff and the great job they did for scouting and giving us the right direction,” he added.
Four different Gin Kings finished in double digit scoring led by Rosario’s 22 points and 10 rebounds. Brownlee himself had a night with 19 markers, seven boards, two assists, one steal, and three blocks.
It was a decent game for the long-time PBA import especially since he had caught the flu bug and wasn’t feeling his best during the match.
But Brownlee was quick to dismiss any concerns about his health and trusted the team’s training staff to take care of him. JB assured he will be back in business in no time as Ginebra is set to play league-leading NorthPort on Wednesday.
“Yeah, just a little bit under the weather. It’s a lot of… maybe a flu like thing going around during the Holidays. Some from the team caught it as well over the break, and unfortunately for me, I just caught it at the wrong time. That’s all it is, I guess,” said Brownlee.
“Hopefully, you know, the trainers and staff have been doing a great job. So hopefully, in the next day or two, I can just pass through,” he added.
The Gin Kings are riding a two-game win streak and are currently at 5-2. They face the NorthPort Batang Pier next on January 8 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
(With reports from Gillian Trinidad/One Sports)