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Justin Brownlee taken to hospital after exiting Game 5 due to food poisoning
Sports
Basketball
Justin Brownlee taken to hospital after exiting Game 5 due to food poisoning
Justin Brownlee taken to hospital after exiting Game 5 due to food poisoning
Published Apr 19, 2023 02:29 pm
Barangay Ginebra import Justin Brownlee failed to finish the Kings’ 104-95 loss to the TNT Tropang Giga in Game 5 after suffering from food poisoning on Wednesday, April 19.
*Justin Brownlee couldn't finish Game 5 due to food poisoning. (Noel Pabalate)*
The Ginebra resident import was already feeling under the weather even before the game but tried to play through it in the first half and made a good account of himself with 14 points on a 6-of-11 shooting from the field. By halftime break, Brownlee was already throwing up in the dugout and when he was on the bench after he was subbed out with still 7:29 left in the third frame. He left the bench late in the quarter and never returned as Ginebra decided to bring and have him checked in the nearest hospital. “He tried to go through the first half and did a pretty good job but at halftime he was out and you could see it at the start of the second half, he just didn’t have anything,” said Cone. “He was throwing up at halftime and he was throwing up on the bench when we took him out. Now we’ve taken him to the hospital, something that we should probably have done before the game,” added the veteran coach who revealed that Brownlee was already feeling the stomach flu as early as lunch time but opted to give it a go in the pivotal Game 5. Even TNT head coach Jojo Lastimosa noticed that Brownlee looked more tired than usual even with the steady performance in the first half. “It didn’t show. He was playing well although the obvious sign was he was tired the whole game. I think everything that he shot, it took everything from him,” Lastimosa commented. Still, even without Brownlee, the Kings managed to dig deep from their "Never-Say-Die" genes as Christian Standhardinger and Nards Pinto tried to will Ginebra back, cutting the lead down to just one, 96-95, with a little over three minutes left after trailing by as many as nine early in the final frame. Big hits from Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Jayson Castro and Glenn Khobuntin compounded by the crucial turnovers of Ginebra and the foul trouble to its key players in Jamie Malonzo and Scottie Thompson completely took the wind out of the defending champions’ sails. “Bottomline we got some turnovers down the stretch. We couldn’t rebound without Justin there and that was the story of the game,” lamented Cone as the Kings now find themselves on the ropes after dropping to a 3-2 Finals series deficit.
*Justin Brownlee couldn't finish Game 5 due to food poisoning. (Noel Pabalate)*
The Ginebra resident import was already feeling under the weather even before the game but tried to play through it in the first half and made a good account of himself with 14 points on a 6-of-11 shooting from the field. By halftime break, Brownlee was already throwing up in the dugout and when he was on the bench after he was subbed out with still 7:29 left in the third frame. He left the bench late in the quarter and never returned as Ginebra decided to bring and have him checked in the nearest hospital. “He tried to go through the first half and did a pretty good job but at halftime he was out and you could see it at the start of the second half, he just didn’t have anything,” said Cone. “He was throwing up at halftime and he was throwing up on the bench when we took him out. Now we’ve taken him to the hospital, something that we should probably have done before the game,” added the veteran coach who revealed that Brownlee was already feeling the stomach flu as early as lunch time but opted to give it a go in the pivotal Game 5. Even TNT head coach Jojo Lastimosa noticed that Brownlee looked more tired than usual even with the steady performance in the first half. “It didn’t show. He was playing well although the obvious sign was he was tired the whole game. I think everything that he shot, it took everything from him,” Lastimosa commented. Still, even without Brownlee, the Kings managed to dig deep from their "Never-Say-Die" genes as Christian Standhardinger and Nards Pinto tried to will Ginebra back, cutting the lead down to just one, 96-95, with a little over three minutes left after trailing by as many as nine early in the final frame. Big hits from Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Jayson Castro and Glenn Khobuntin compounded by the crucial turnovers of Ginebra and the foul trouble to its key players in Jamie Malonzo and Scottie Thompson completely took the wind out of the defending champions’ sails. “Bottomline we got some turnovers down the stretch. We couldn’t rebound without Justin there and that was the story of the game,” lamented Cone as the Kings now find themselves on the ropes after dropping to a 3-2 Finals series deficit.