MANILA, Philippines — Justin Brownlee had nothing but respect for his former teammate and good friend James Dickey shortly after Barangay Ginebra beat Phoenix, 109-96 in their PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Sunday duel at the Araneta Coliseum.
Sunday’s match was the first time Brownlee and Dickey met in the PBA. The two reinforcements played together at Pelita Jaya, leading the ballcub to the 2024 Indonesia Basketball League crown.
Both imports played their hearts out with Dickey registering a near triple-double of 21 points, 21 rebounds, and nine assists. Brownlee meanwhile, erupted for 21 of his 30 points in the second half to lead Ginebra to its first back-to-back wins for the conference.
“It’s kind of hard going up against a friend or pare,” said Brownlee of Dickey during the post-game interview. “But when you get on the court, you just got to go in. He went at it and tried to go at him as hard as I can without showing that friendship.
“But I think it was great, it was very fun, and competitive.” The 6-foot-4 Brownlee recognized Dickey’s efforts that saw Phoenix engage Ginebra in a tight battle through the second half, before the Gin Kings made their big run en route to the victory.
“He had a huge game for them, he did a lot for them on both ends of the floor,” said the Ginebra reinforcement and Gilas naturalized player. “He’s a tough competitor, he’s a great person, a great guy off the court, I think everybody knows I played with him in Indonesia, and he’s a great teammate,” added the Ginebra import, whose team now improved to 4-2 overall.
For the 29-year-old Dickey, he had warned his teammates that Ginebra will make its own run in the second half with Brownlee expected to be at the forefront.
“Ginebra made their run. They made their championship run and we knew it was going to come at some point. Going into halftime, we were telling everyone, everyone was saying, you know, let's not get too high because the run is coming,” Dickey said.
Brownlee, the three-time PBA Best Import, has been in the league long enough to know when to take over.
The 37-year-old Brownlee was at his element in the last two quarters, which enabled him to lead the charge, while adding nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block.
“We knew JB was going to get going at some point. And that's kind of what happened, man. It's very frustrating…And we just couldn't, we couldn't withstand it. We couldn't withstand it,” said Dickey.
