Justin Brownlee assured that he’s all fine after exiting Ginebra’s eventual loss to NLEX in PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup action on Sunday night.
The three-time Best Import said that he only cramped up and nothing else, allaying fears of a serious injury when he was carried on the way to the bench at the 3:36-mark of the overtime period, never to check back in.
“It’s just a cramp. Luckily it was nothing else,” the 36-year-old told reporters moments after their 103-99 defeat at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Brownlee left the game with 26 points and 12 rebounds in over 42 minutes of playing time.
However, he also left his team dejected as it was through him that the crowd darlings managed to push the game into five more minutes.
He scored the last four of a 7-0 run – including a one-handed jam in transition – to tie things up at 92-all with 32.3 seconds left in regulation.
But then, barely two minutes into OT, the unfortunate development happened.
The game slipped away from them slowly as Robert Bolick, DeQuan Jones, and Ritchie Rodger helped the Road Warriors seize the W.
“The last jump shot I shot, I kinda felt something,” Brownlee recalled when asked when exactly did he cramp up that led to the sudden exit. “It’s not normal, but I’m used to the feeling as far as knowing when the cramps come.
“Just got a little fatigued, felt the cramp, and then I ran back, tried to run it off and hopefully it will go away. But I think it was when I tried to get a rebound or something and then it’s just like my whole leg kind of locked up,” he added.
Brownlee vowed to never let cramps get in the way again, most importantly now that they’re entering the quarterfinals as the no.3 seed of Group B.
“Everybody knows that I have a history with cramps,” the Gilas star said with a grin, referring to the 2023 Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia where he suffered the same issue due to the venue’s sweltering conditions.
“I just gotta do a better job rehydrating or getting myself hydrated before the game – even during the game. Just gotta do a better job of hydrating, making sure that doesn’t happen,” added Brownlee.
And given the fact, too, that he and Ginebra are bound for yet another collision course with Meralco in their best-of-5 series, which starts this week.
“Everybody knows we have history. They’re a tough team. They obviously have gotten better. They’re a champion team now,” said Brownlee of the new Philippine Cup kings.
“We know that they’re gonna be tough like always.”
