Will Barangay Ginebra play without the injured Justin Brownlee on Friday? That’s the question on everyone’s minds after the import was brought to the hospital with a thumb injury.
One could almost hear the collective groan from Barangay Ginebra San Miguel fans in the third quarter of Game 3 of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday night. The sight of super import Justin Brownlee on the bench with his head bowed while his hand was being checked surely made every fan fear the worst.
Moments later, when Brownlee left the playing area and boarded an ambulance, the concern level cranked up several more notches. Never mind that the Kings nearly pulled off one of their patented underdog wins before falling to the TNT Tropang Giga, 85-82, on a big triple from Rey Nambatac. At the end of the day, TNT seized a 2-1 series lead while Barangay Ginebra faced the grim specter of playing without an import for Friday night’s Game 4.
The official diagnosis centered around Brownlee’s right thumb, which was said to have suffered a dislocation. Ginebra coach Tim Cone, in a message to the media, said Brownlee was “doubtful” for Game 4 but didn’t totally rule him out. The team also has an option to bring in a replacement import as a stop-gap measure, although they would have to choose one quickly given the short turnaround between games.
Brownlee was coming off a superb 35-point performance in Game 2, which Ginebra won by a mere point. At the time of his injury, he had tallied 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists in just over 28 minutes of action. For the finals, Brownlee has been averaging 27.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists.
As for the Tropang Giga, they are by no means taking anything for granted. In fact, TNT coach Chot Reyes feels a potential Brownlee absence in Game 4 might even work against them.
“We don’t know,” Reyes said. “But even without him, nakita niyo naman today how strong, how tight that team is. So without Justin, somebody else is going to step up.
“And again, they’re going to rely on their defense, their ability to defend us, to generate stops for themselves. So we’re not, this is not over by any means. So we have to make sure that we’re ready.”
TNT actually found itself trailing, 82-80, late in the game before rallying for the crucial win. The fact that Ginebra put up a big fight even without Brownlee didn’t surprise Reyes at all.
“They’re very disciplined. Coach Tim really prides himself in his ability to have transition defense, to defend transition. Kaya kailangan maka-score kami doon.”
Banner Images by PBA Media Bureau.