ANTIPOLO City - Tim Cone disclosed Barangay Ginebra tinkered with the idea of tapping Ange Kouame to replace injured import Justin Brownlee in the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals against TNT.
Cone said the Kings had the 6-foot-10 Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player as their back-up plan with Brownlee nursing a dislocated thumb which he suffered in the second half of a Game 3 loss.
READ Heroic Brownlee performance inspires Ginebra to finals-tying win
But Brownlee assured Cone and the team that he was ready to play Friday which he did, eventually leading the Kings to a 95-78 win.
"We called on Ange Kouame to see if he could replace Justin. But then Justin said I think I could play," said Cone during the post-game presser.
Kouame, the former UAAP MVP from Ateneo who was part of Cone's Gilas Pilipinas roster that won the men's basketball gold medal in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, actually showed up during the Kings' practice on Thursday.
"We brought Ange Kouame to the practice. I personally talked to Ange and asked him to come," added Cone.
But the warrior in him had Brownlee, 36, convinced he can compete and play in Game 4 despite the injury.
"As soon as they got the thumb stable, I knew I could play," said Brownlee, who finished with 23 points including 15 in the first half on 9-of-17 shooting overall.
For good measure, Ginebra's resident import added 12 rebounds and five assists while playing for close to 46 minutes on an injured thumb.
Cone admitted he thought Brownlee was really out for the entire best-of-seven series.
"I would absolutely be honest . I thought from what I see, from what I heard, that there was no way Justin could play. None. And I thought he was out for the series," said the Ginebra coach, who thanked the entire Ginebra physical therapist team for doing a great job on the import's injury.
"But once he did (play), he gets Player of the Game. It's so amazing. He's not just a great player, but he's such a warrior. What a warrior he is to come out and play tonight."
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