The proverbial cat is now out of the box: Justin Brownlee really is hurting.
Brownlee, who turned 38 back in April, is dealing with a right hamstring issue, which he first sustained in Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s 112-81 victory over the Phoenix Fuel Masters in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals.
Even so, that problematic hamstring hasn’t sidelined Brownlee. In fact, he is averaging 31.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks in Ginebra’s first two semis games against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters after putting up 31 points, 15 boards, 8 dimes, 1 steal, and 1 block in the barangay’s Game 2 win.
JB Tweaks His Hamstring Again
Unfortunately for the No. 2 seed this conference, JB tweaked that same hamstring on Friday, according to Tim Cone.
“He’s still got that hamstring issue that’s coming and going, and he had a little tug again in the fourth quarter,” Cone told reporters at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. “We tried to keep him off, but we needed to get him back on the floor. It would have been nice to be able to pull him and not play him any longer.”
Indeed, Ginebra had the chance to give Brownlee more rest, entering the fourth quarter of Game 2 with an 18-point lead. But Rain or Shine made a game out of it later in the fourth, forcing Cone to field JB back in.
Justin Brownlee Is a Warrior
This development is arguably a concern for Ginebra. It is especially true against the young, fast-paced, and incredibly physical Elasto Painters, who turned up the intensity in the fourth quarter of Game 2 to turn what seemed like an easy Ginebra win into a thrilling, furious finish.
Cone, however, is unperturbed and is counting on the team’s training staff to make sure Brownlee is good to go again in Game 3 on Sunday.
“He’s a warrior,” Cone said of his resident reinforcement, “and we have a great training staff, and they’re going to get him ready for Sunday.”
That’s a bit of good news for Ginebra fans. Then again, it’s still a cause of concern at the very least.
