Ginebra finds a hero in Malonzo, who helped preserve JB heroics
CITY OF ANTIPOLO—Jamie Malonzo is no stranger to struggles. He’s fought through several of them in his young career—both on the court and off of it.
So when Barangay Ginebra’s indefatigable import Justin Brownlee faced struggles of his own, Malonzo made sure he would not let his teammate down, rising to the occasion in the crowd darlings’ 95-78 Game 4 victory against TNT in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals on Friday night.
Malonzo played inspired basketball at Ynares Center here, finishing with 24 points—10 of which sparked a late pullaway in the fourth that ultimately allowed the crowd darlings to knot the best-of-seven showdown to two games apiece.
“Well, me and the team understood that it’s a crucial game in the series,” Malonzo told reporters on the heels of the win. “It’s very important for us to get a win today and I think our team really had the focus. Luckily, we got a few shots to fall and that helped a lot.”
Brownlee, who was hospitalized after dislocating his right thumb in Game 3, was a game-time decision. And on game time, he gutted out 23 points and 12 rebounds, his performance an inspiration to the Gin Kings, who also drew twin-digit performances from the likes of Japeth Aguilar and Stephen Holt.
The well-loved resident import has carried Barangay Ginebra time and again, so it was no longer a question of whether or not Malonzo was going to return the favor.
Just like Willis
“Anytime a player is going through something like that, and is so important to our team? I think all of us, especially, we were trying to help Justin. Just anything we can do to help him. He’s playing through a lot of injuries. He’s given us, the team, his all, so of course, it’s on us to help Justin as much as possible,” he said.
“Even in Game 3, you could see his importance on the court, his presence off the court,” Malonzo added of Brownlee, whom he won his first—and as of now—his only PBA title. “It’s really important for him to be with us at this point in the season. So, JB playing today was very important.”
Brownlee’s display of resilience was reminiscent of NBA great Willis Reed during Game 7 of the New York Knicks’ 1970 Finals duel against the Los Angeles Lakers—something Ginebra coach Tim still vividly remembers.
“I watched that game on TV,” he said, but not without pointing out a critical detail. “Reed played two minutes. Justin played 45 [minutes] and did what he did through all that pain. I really haven’t seen anything that amazing in my career, in my 35 years, in 36 years, seeing a guy have that kind of injury and come back and be able to play at the kind of level he’s played at. Kudos to him.”
Reed played through a severe thigh injury and spurred the Knicks to the crown.
Cone went on to add another detail—this time, one that framed Ginebra’s equalizing triumph in full.
“Obviously, the focus is on Justin, but we played a really good team game tonight as well,” Cone said. “Jamie stepped up and made some huge, huge shots for us. He and Stephen [Holt] did a great job defending [Rondae Hollis-Jefferson] tonight.”
“We played a really good defensive game and we got our offense going a little bit. Hopefully, we can continue that into the next,” the champion mentor added, referring to the tiebreaking Game 5 penciled on Sunday.
