Riley Grigsby is no Justin Brownlee—and he’s fine with it.
The 26-year-old NBA G League veteran made his PBA debut on Sunday but came out on the losing end as the Phoenix Fuel Masters survived a late Barangay Ginebra San Miguel rally to escape with an 81-78 win at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Riley Grigsby Knows the Challenge at Hand
After that game, Grigsby admitted to reporters that he’s well aware of his unique situation: he’s here to replace, on a temporary basis, one of the most legendary imports the PBA has ever seen in Justin Brownlee. It doesn’t mean he’ll try to play like JB.
“They had Justin here, and I knew what I was coming in to replace him,” Grigsby acknowledged. “But it’s just basketball at the end of the day. I just have to come in and play my game, and that’s what I’ll do.”
Play his game he did against Phoenix, and it looked good. Grigsby finished with 42 points and 13 rebounds in 46 minutes and looked comfortable as a go-to scorer—the same role Brownlee plays so well for Ginebra. Unfortunately, that didn’t translate to a win just yet.
Getting Better on Defense
Grigsby will get his second shot at a win in the PBA later tonight as Ginebra takes on the up-and-coming Blackwater Bossing. And the 6-foot-6 Californian knows exactly what he has to do.
“We didn’t get the win but I just came out, trying to be aggressive, trying to help the team do whatever they could to win. Obviously I had 42 points, but we could do a better job on defense. I could score the ball, but I need to lock in better on defense,” he noted.
Interestingly, Grigsby didn’t exactly struggle on that side of the ball against Phoenix as he tallied 2 steals and 1 block. Even so, he knows he needs to be as impactful on defense as he is on offense.
He has to. After all, the man he replaced did it all.
