NEW Zealand coach Judd Flavell admitted that beating Gilas Pilipinas required containing naturalized player Justin Brownlee at all cost.
And the Tall Blacks succeeded on Thursday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
New Zealand held Brownlee to just four points, his lowest in a FIBA tournament, as the Tall Blacks subdued Gilas Pilipinas, 69-66, in the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
The usually efficient Brownlee went ice cold from the field after making just two of his 10 attempts from the field, while missing all four of his three-point heaves.
Brownlee, a known clutch performer both for Gilas Pilipinas and his PBA team Barangay Ginebra, also turned the ball over four times as he was visibly shaken by the Tall Blacks defense.
“He’s about 80 percent of our game plan,” said Flavell during the post-game talk with media. “Whenever he’s on the floor, we know the ball is coming back to Brownlee.”
Flavell sure did his homework.
“He takes a lot of attention. He can score the basketball and he’s a true international scorer. So we just have to be in touch distance with him all the time,” explained the 52-year-old New Zealand head coach.
“He’s involved in the actions so we want to make sure there’s always two guys on him and he got to see a lot of bodies.”
Brownlee’s movements were tracked well by the visiting New Zealand side, which assigned players like Reuben Ta Ngani, Jordan Ngatai, Max Darling, and Carli Davison to put the cuffs on the three-time PBA Best Import.
“That was their assignment,” said Flavell.
“But it’s more than that though because Brownlee is a good facilitator and he does share the ball, so everybody has to be in their right spots. He’s a big part of the game plan for sure.”
Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone recognized New Zealand’s well-coordinated game plan to contain Brownlee.
“People are gonna point at the game and say he only had four points, but that was strictly through the game planning of New Zealand,” Cone said. “They also did a really good job of doubling Justin, denying him touches.”
Brownlee’s off night may be glaring, but local players Dwight Ramos and CJ Perez stepped up offensively.
Ramos led the host team with 16 points, sparking the Philippines’ late-game charge. He even had a chance to send the game into overtime but his last-second heave from near the half-court line, hit the backside of the ring, allowing the Tall Blacks to escape with the win.
“We needed another guy to step up, and CJ did, Dwight did. But when it came down to big plays, making a big shot, we weren’t able to do that at crucial times,” said Cone.
The Philippines will have two days to regroup and adjust before facing world No. 6 Australia at the same venue.
The Philippines dropped to second spot in Group A with a 2-1 win-loss card, behind Australia (3-0), which secured a spot in the second round after hammering winless Guam, 93-80, on Thursday.
New Zealand (1-2) will also play Guam (0-3) on Sunday.