Barangay Ginebra's resident import Justin Brownlee savors the opportunity to settle an unfinished business in the PBA Governors Cup.
Brownlee and the Gin Kings lorded it over the field in the season-ending conference in 2016 and 2017 but missed out on a golden treble last year after yielding to eventual champion Magnolia in four games in the semifinals.
Now the do-it-all American is motivated more than ever to regain the lost crown.
"Super motivated. I wish we would've had that three-peat last year but unfortunately, we came up short," said Brownlee, who actually won the 2018 Commissioner's Cup diadem with Ginebra prior to relinquishing their Governors' Cup throne.
"It feels good to be in the Finals, but this point we're not satisfied. We wanna feel that greatest feeling. I'm just super proud of everybody, it just feels great and hopefully, we can get another one."
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Brownlee has been nothing but super for Ginebra, rattling triple-double or near-triple double outings for the crowd favorites the entire tournament. He delivered 36 points, 19 rebounds, eigth assists, three steals, two blocks against one turnover to lead the Gin Kings to the clinching 120-107 drubbing of NorthPort in Game 4 of the best-of-five semis.
"I knew that Justin was really motivated, you can see it in his game," Ginebra coach Tim Cone said of their prized reinforcement.
The Gin Kings await the outcome of the other semis duel between TNT KaTropa and Meralco Bolts to know their protagonist in the finals.
"At this point, whoever we play- Meralco or Talk n' Text - we know, it's gonna be tough. Those two teams are pretty much that top teams for the most of the conference," said Brownlee.
The championship series kicks off Jan. 8 yet, giving Ginebra and the other finalist lots of time to recharge and prepare for the Last Dance.
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"It's kinda tricky because you don't wanna get out of shape too much. You wanna stay focused and locked in. It's the Finals. I don't think we've ever done this, having extended breaks in the semis and in the Finals. We just wanna stay focused and try not to lose the mentality that we already got right now," Brownlee said. "Hopefully we don't take too many days off." (OL)
