By REY C. LACHICA
HANGZHOU, China – Justine Brownlee was outscored by counterpart Rondae Jefferson-Hollis in the intriguing gold medal match between thre Philippines and Jordan Friday, Oct. 6, in the Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Gymnasium here.
But definitely, he was not outshone.
In fact, it was Brownlee who had the last laugh in the game that mattered most for all Filipino basketball fans as the Nationals prevailed, 70-60, a result that left the partisan home fans disappointed.
He tallied only 20 points – a far cry from his average of 33 points in the team’s crucial wins over Iran and China in the quarters and semis – but it was good enough to inspire others, especially Chris Newsome and Ange Kouame, who supplied the needed firepower to finally end the country’s long and agonizing wait to regain the Asian glory that was last savored in 1962.
Jefferson-Hollis did score 24 points on top of 12 rebounds but he was a sorry sight in the first 10 minutes of play as he missed all but one of 9 tries from field.
He did well in the second frame where his two triples highlighted a huge run that enabled the Jordanians to erase a 13-point deficit and tie the count at 31-all at the half.
The third was start of the major separation for as Gilas Brownlee sparked a mini run to regain the lead for good.
But one good thing about Brownlee was that he refused to take the credit all for himself, saying: “Everybody did their share, everybody worked hard for this victory.”
“It was totally a team effort,” added Brownlee who was granted Filipino citizenship on Jan. 12 this year after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos signed House Bill No. 6224.
And one of the happiest persons for Brownlee’s great contribution to the country’s return as Asia’s premier basketball nation was Rep. Mikee Romero.
“In my almost 9 years of being in the House of Representatives, I have created 75 Republic Acts, but helping Justin Brownlee become a Filipino is one of the highlights of my legislative career,” said Romero.
“His performance gave tremendous help in giving back to out country this historic Asian Games gold.”
Romero, who led the initiative in the House for Brownlee’s naturalization, is hoping to honor Brownlee once again.
“It’s not easy, but we’ll try,” said Romero in a text message.
