Gilas coach Chot Reyes shares what makes Justin Brownlee a unique player

Gilas Pilipinas got a timely boost with the entry of naturalized player Justin Brownlee as the national team defended their home soil against Lebanon in the sixth and final window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Friday at the Philippine Arena.

Brownlee led the Filipinos with a team-high 17 points alongside five assists and four rebounds as Gilas posted a 107-96 victory over the Cedars, who had beaten them in the previous window and in the FIBA Asia Cup.

With Brownlee leading the pack, the Philippines cruised to a wire-to-wire win to improve to 6-3 in Group E.

Gilas head coach Chot Reyes, though, stressed it's not Brownlee's skills that make him unique and a stellar player. For the veteran tactician, it's Brownlee's ability to make the people around him better.

"Of all Justin's skills, he shoots the ball well, he defends, he's got a lot of technical skills. But the one skill, for me, that I appreciate if [he's a] great teammate and a great teammate makes his teammates better," Reyes said.

"So for me that's his greatest skill."

That was proven true as five other Gilas players reached double-digit scoring to steer the Philippines to the win.

Brownlee's Ginebra teammate Jamie Malonzo listed 15 points, highlighted by several dunks while debuting young star Mason Amos collected 13 markers on perfect 3-of-3 from the three-point territory. Jordan Heading, Ray Parks, and Dwight Ramos all chimed in with 10 points apiece to contribute to Gilas’ hot-shooting outing.

Reyes said Brownlee’s addition to Gilas made up for all the failures the national team had endured in the past.

“I think when I reflect, I always believe that things happen for a reason and I think all of the challenges that we went through very early when I was appointed as a coach, I think the reason for that was for the entire country to get together,” he said.

“And so we're very thankful to the Senate and the Congress, the PBA, all the stakeholders for getting together and finally getting Justin's papers done. And maybe that's the reason for all the heartaches that we had to endure in the past because finally everyone finally came together.”

—JMB, GMA Integrated News