PBA: After Brownlee's 54-point career night, Cone says Barangay Ginebra can't be too 'Justin-centric'

Justin Brownlee delivered a historic performance for Barangay Ginebra, posting a stat line the PBA had not seen in nearly three decades.

The 38-year-old import erupted for a career-high 54 points to power the Gin Kings to a 100-95 overtime victory over TNT in Game 5 of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Finals on Friday.

Brownlee’s 54-point outburst, which gave Barangay Ginebra a 3-2 series lead and moved the team within one win of the championship, was the highest scoring performance in a PBA Finals game in 32 years, matching the feat achieved by Tony Harris in 1993.

Despite Brownlee’s heroics, head coach Tim Cone believes the Gin Kings cannot rely solely on their resident import and will need more contributions from their local core in Game 6 on Sunday.

"What did I say after the last game? I think I said we shouldn't be so Justin-centric and what happens? He comes out and hits 54 tonight. So it goes to show what I know," Cone said.

"The key tonight was Justin was awesome."

With Brownlee accounting for more than half of Ginebra’s points, the rest of the team struggled offensively, with no other player reaching the 15-point mark.

RJ Abarrientos finished with 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting, while Troy Rosario added 10. Both, however, delivered key plays down the stretch.

Abarrientos knocked down a jumper before finding Rosario with a bounce pass off a pick-and-roll play, leading to a layup that gave Ginebra a 98-94 advantage in overtime. The recently crowned Best Player of the Conference then sealed the victory with a pair of free throws as the Gin Kings regained control of the best-of-seven series.

"They're putting a guy on him that Justin knows he can attack. They're really forcing Justin to go one-on-one and do his thing and we really have no recourse but to allow it to happen. It's just really the way they're defending," Cone said.

"But we gotta figure out a different way because the whole point, just like Yeng Guiao stated in the last series, is to wear Justin down where he's no longer effective in Game 6 and Game 7."

Despite the grueling playoff grind, Brownlee said fatigue cannot be used as an excuse at this stage of the Finals.

"I think everybody's tired now, but at this point, both teams can't use that as an excuse. This is how the playoffs have always been. Everybody gets tired at this point but you just gotta keep the big picture in mind," Brownlee said.

—JKC, GMA News