Could you not download the APK for that apps and installed directly? Don't get me wrong, I had not realised google was locking the play store and totally agree

Could you not download the APK for that apps and installed directly? Don't get me wrong, I had not realised google was locking the play store and totally agree that it is an issue, but wondering if that could have helped you at the time. Also, I run lineageOS to be able to update old phones with recent Android version, and tend to get better battery life and faster boot!