Gilas Pilipinas’ naturalized player, Justin Brownlee, felt he could have played better when they took on Brazil in the semifinals of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia.
Brownlee was the nationals’ anchor during the first two games in the OQT, where they beat Latvia and made a hell of a run against Georgia.
Against Larvia, “Justin Noypi” scored 26 points and had nine rebounds and nine assists en route to the Philippines’ 89-80 win.
He followed it up with another near triple-double of 28 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists in a tight 96-94 loss to Georgia, an outcome that didn’t hinder the Philippines’ march to the semifinals.
But Brazil scouted him well.
The Brazilians shackled him, limiting Brownlee to just three points in the second half to deny the Philippines a spot in the finals, 71-60. There, he ended up with 15 points.
“I’m not proud of the way we played. I know I can play better, and I feel like I let my teammates down by the way I played,” he said. “Definitely, I’m not happy.”
Nevertheless, he was included in the All-Star Five of the Riga FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
“Grateful for the opportunity, though. It’s just been an honor to come to this country (Latvia) and be able to showcase Filipino basketball, and I want to thank Latvia for that,” he said.
The post Brownlee admits disappointment in Gilas’ defeat to Brazil first appeared on Fastbreak.
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