When it comes to memorable Ginebra performances, what Justin Brownlee did on Friday night against the TNT Tropang Giga ranks right up there.
Heading into Game 4 of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup Finals between the TNT Tropang Giga and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, the big question on everyone’s minds was whether Justin Brownlee would play.
In Game 3, Brownlee had suffered what the team was describing as a dislocated thumb, and there was genuine concern that he might have been out for the rest of the series.
But this is the Barangay Ginebra franchise we’re talking about, the team where legends are made and comebacks are in everyone’s collective DNA. And in the 40th year marking Robert Jaworski’s dramatic return to the ULTRA with a heavily-bandaged upper lip, another story of a Ginebra player overcoming odds and injury made its way into team lore.
With his right thumb heavily bandaged and, in Tim Cone’s own words, threatening to fall out if the bandage is removed, Justin Brownlee played 45 minutes and finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists to power Barangay Ginebra to a 95-78 win that leveled the series at 2-2.
‘No way he’ll play’
To think that just 24 hours earlier, Cone was already calling up Ange Kouame to see if he could come in as a replacement. He was that certain Brownlee was out.
“We didn’t even do any video yesterday in practice because we were so concerned about Justin,” Cone said. “We were looking at all of our options. I’ll be absolutely honest. I thought from what I saw and what I heard that there was no way that Justin was going to play (Friday). None. I thought he was out for the series, frankly.
“And we even brought in Ange Kouame to see if he could replace Justin. But then Justin said, I think I can play. And so, you know, got to the training group a huge thank you because they got him in a position where they could put a tape in and secure that bump.
“And then, but I still didn’t think he was going to play. And then what did he do? He gets player of the game. I mean, amazing.
“He’s not only just a great player. What a warrior he is to come out and play tonight. I didn’t think he had any chance at all to play tonight. And he not only played, but he played like this.”
Brownlee, though, said he knew he would be able to play once the team’s physical therapy staff worked their magic.
“Man, it’s been a little tough. But like Coach said, you know, the guys on the staff, they did a really good job as far as just keeping the thumb stable. So just a lot of ice and yeah, just trying to mentally prepare myself. So I just wanted to go out there and just be there for the team and just try to get a win.”
Make no mistake, though, Brownlee’s thumb is in a very delicate situation.
“This may sound a little gross, but when you take that tape off his thumb, his thumb falls out, just literally falls out like that,” Cone said. “I mean, it doesn’t even stay in the joint. It just literally falls out. So I mean, that’s security in there right now. But the moment that tape comes out, there’s no security at all. It just automatically falls out of the joint.
“So it automatically dislocates. So again, that’s painful. And that’s what he went through tonight to get to get out there and play amazing, amazing.”
“As soon as they just got the thumb stable, I knew I could play,” Brownlee said. “I think the only doubt I had was just if the thumb just keep falling out of place and it’s not stable. But like I said, the staff, they did a great job just keeping it stable.”
Epic moment
Cone has been around the PBA for a long time, and even he was astounded by what Brownlee did.
“I really haven’t seen anything that amazing in my career, my 35 years, 36 years, seeing a guy have that kind of injury and come back and be able to play at the kind of level he’s played at. So kudos to him.
“I mean, this guy came out and played 45 minutes and 46 minutes and did what he did through all that pain.”
For Brownlee, it was simply a matter of upholding Ginebra’s never-say-die mantra, something he first saw during his first stint here in 2016, when two aging team icons joined forces one last time to lift Ginebra to an improbable comeback win in Game 3 of the Governors’ Cup Finals against the Meralco Bolts.
“I got to understand the never-say-die mentality through Jay-jay (Helterbrand) and Mark (Caguioa) my first stint here in 2016,” he recalled. “It was a moment in the finals and we were playing Meralco. I think we were down in that series.”
“We were down like 17 points, and we were down in the series, I think 2-1,” Cone said. “And Mark and Jay-jay got on the floor and just brought us back in a brilliant, brilliant performance by the two of them. And they weren’t playing all that much at that time, they were coming off the bench, and they just turned that game around.
“I’d always battled against the never-say-die, but that was the first time I really felt it in, you know, down to my core, that never-say-die. Yeah, so I agree, Mark and Jay-jay, they taught us what it’s all about.”
Game 5 is set for Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Banner Images from PBA Media Bureau.