The Philippines upset Latvia 89-80 in Riga to claim their first win against a European team in an official FIBA competition since they beat Spain 84-82 at the 1960 Olympics.
“Our country is so passionate about basketball. Pretty much everybody knows that by now,” said head coach Tim Cone, who took over the national team from Chot Reyes. “For us to be successful on the world stage really means a lot. This is a big huge step for us.”
“It was big for us,” said Justin Brownlee, who led Philippines with 26 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists for a 33-efficiency rating. “We have a lot of respect for Latvia. It feels great, but we’re definitely not satisfied. We’re hungry and confident moving forward.”
Brownlee, a 36-year old from Georgia who played college ball at St. John’s, averaged around 30 points per game and won six conference titles with Barangay Ginebra of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He won the 2018 ASEAN championship with San Miguel Alab Pilipinas, and won the Lebanese Basketball League championship in 2019 with Al Riyadi Club Beirut. He also played in Mexico, Italy, France, United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.
“The world don’t really know much about Justin Brownlee, but for me, he is the Michael Jordan of Philippines basketball,” said his Philippines teammate Kai Sotto. “That’s what we expected him to do and that is what he does every night.”
Brownlee expressed his desire in August 2018 to become a citizen of the Philippines. President Bongbong Marcos signed a measure into law on Jan. 12, 2023, making Brownlee eligible to play under FIBA rules. He led Philippines to a gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games later in 2023. But Philippines chose NBA player Jordan Clarkson over Brownlee as the team’s sole naturalized player at the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Manila, where the team excited fans but failed to advance.
Brownlee gave credit to coach Cone’s system: ”We’ve got a lot of confidence in coach Tim. He’s been doing a great job with the triangle offense. He’s very intelligent when it comes to basketball and breaking down fundamentals. It’s been great for the whole culture around Gilas and the country.”
Latvia, who had already qualified for the semi-finals, made only 9 of 39 threes.
words and images copyright Christopher Johnson Globalite Media all rights reserved
Globalite Magazine 
You must be logged in to post a comment.