Heat takes toll as Brownlee deals with dehydration, cramps in loss to Cambodia
The exhausting heat has certainly taken its toll on Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player Justin Brownlee as he was seemingly winded in their loss to host Cambodia in their group stage match on Thursday, May 11.
Brownlee was scoreless in the first half and while he still managed to finish with 10 points, he wound up with a poor 3-of-13 shooting from the field. Gilas head coach Chot Reyes later on revealed that the Ginebra resident import was severely affected by the humid conditions inside the venue. “Brownlee couldn’t move, severely dehydrated. The heat really got to him,” Reyes said of Brownlee who, at some point of the game, was seen being iced and put in front of an electric fan in an effort to cool him down. The 35-year-old forward did show some fight in the second half but couldn’t really fully sustain the run as he was already suffering from cramps. “Later on, medyo bumuti nang konti. But then, he was cramping up already. He just lost so much fluid, too much fluid,” Reyes explained. Reyes also admitted that Brownlee’s fitness is a huge concern for Gilas moving forward especially with Calvin Oftana ruled out for the rest of the competition after suffering from a calf strain. “It’s definitely a concern because in his words, he feels smothered. Hindi siya makahinga so that’s a real problem. That’s why we were down in the first half. I don’t think he scored right? When will you ever see Justin go scoreless in one half,” added Reyes. Gilas could only hope for Brownlee to get himself acclimated to the condition although the veteran coach felt that team should have been able to keep in step with Cambodia if only the rest of the team stepped up and carried the load. “Continued hydration is no.1 and hopefully, the longer he stays here, the longer he gets used to the conditions, the more his body gets acclimated to it. That's our hope,” said Reyes. “But we’re not a one-man team. The others should also pick up the slack. That’s what I told the guys after that game,” he added.
*Justin Brownlee struggles with the humid conditions in Gilas Pilipinas loss to Cambodia (
**Ariya Kurniawan \| @ariyakurniawan16 on IG\)
*Brownlee was scoreless in the first half and while he still managed to finish with 10 points, he wound up with a poor 3-of-13 shooting from the field. Gilas head coach Chot Reyes later on revealed that the Ginebra resident import was severely affected by the humid conditions inside the venue. “Brownlee couldn’t move, severely dehydrated. The heat really got to him,” Reyes said of Brownlee who, at some point of the game, was seen being iced and put in front of an electric fan in an effort to cool him down. The 35-year-old forward did show some fight in the second half but couldn’t really fully sustain the run as he was already suffering from cramps. “Later on, medyo bumuti nang konti. But then, he was cramping up already. He just lost so much fluid, too much fluid,” Reyes explained. Reyes also admitted that Brownlee’s fitness is a huge concern for Gilas moving forward especially with Calvin Oftana ruled out for the rest of the competition after suffering from a calf strain. “It’s definitely a concern because in his words, he feels smothered. Hindi siya makahinga so that’s a real problem. That’s why we were down in the first half. I don’t think he scored right? When will you ever see Justin go scoreless in one half,” added Reyes. Gilas could only hope for Brownlee to get himself acclimated to the condition although the veteran coach felt that team should have been able to keep in step with Cambodia if only the rest of the team stepped up and carried the load. “Continued hydration is no.1 and hopefully, the longer he stays here, the longer he gets used to the conditions, the more his body gets acclimated to it. That's our hope,” said Reyes. “But we’re not a one-man team. The others should also pick up the slack. That’s what I told the guys after that game,” he added.