PBA: Jalen Hudson ‘up there’ among top imports but Justin Brownlee still yardstick, says Jojo Lastimosa

MANILA, Philippines-Jalen Hudson may be contributing consistently for TNT but coach Jojo Lastimosa still believes Justin Brownlee is the “size” for the import.

After Tropang Giga’s lopsided win over Terrafirma in the PBA Governor’s Cup tournament, 131-109, Lastimosa admitted that while Hudson may be “on top”, in the ranking of the best imports, Brownlee still holds the top spot-for now.

“He’s on top. He’s not bad. I’m not going to say that [he’s the best]. Brownlee is still the benchmark today,” the top coach said.

Before Lastimosa said his thoughts on Hudson’s place in the league, Mikey Williams whispered “top two” in a joke in the post-game media scrum at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday.

The 6-foot-6 cager has dropped 33.4 points per outing for TNT while adding another 36-piece to his collection in a win over Dyip. He also grabbed six rebounds.

WATCH: TNT’s Mikey Williams and coach Jojo Lastimosa after the win against Terrafirma.

Williams finished with 26 points for the win. | @MeloFuertesINQ pic.twitter.com/6CEGT6NTsK

– INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) February 11, 2023

This happened just three days after dropping 56 points in a 128-122 win over Converge at the Araneta Coliseum.

Brownlee, on the other hand, nearly averaged a triple-double in conference play last season with 31.7 markers, 13.7 rebounds and 9.7 dimes per game.

The naturalized Gilas Pilipinas player finished Friday’s game against Northport with 22 points, 15 boards and 12 assists in a 115-100 win.

Lastimosa, however, thinks that there is still room for improvement for the import, especially with the way he attacks the basketball.

“I think Jalen knows he can get a good shot whenever he wants. I’m just frustrated when he gets to the basket and he can’t control it,” Lastimosa said.

“I said he can shoot at any time, especially on the basketball, but he has to stay in control and finish there,” he said.

Shooting didn’t seem to be a problem for Hudson on Saturday, though, as he only missed three of 15 shots for an 80 percent shooting clip from the field.

He also continued to show his three-point shooting prowess, sinking four in the win.

Hudson was also caught in another import-shooting frenzy as Terrafirma’s Jordan Williams scored 38 of his own in the loss.

“Goal scorers can always score. Jordan is a very good player and we don’t mind if he makes a shot during the match,” explained Lastimosa.

Unlike Hudson, Williams shot inconsistently from the floor, making only 15 of 27 attempts. However, he finished second with 10 places to match that score.

Williams was watching from the back as Tropang Giga avoided him to avoid another 57-marker outing, which he did in Dyip’s 119-106 win over Blackwater on Thursday.

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