IT’S not only Justin Brownlee who Barangay Ginebra will be missing in the early part of the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Count in recent Commissioner’s Cup Finals MVP Scottie Thompson, too.
Like the 38-year-old Brownlee, Thompson was hampered with a hamstring injury during the course of the best-of-seven finals between the Kings and TNT Tropang 5G that he’s been ordered to take a rest in order to full heal from the injury.
READ: Ginebra problem as Brownlee injuries could 'take weeks to heal'
“Doctor (George) Canlas has ordered for him to have a 6-8 weeks of rest,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
“So we’ll probably miss him for the first few weeks of the conference.”
The injury forced Thompson to give up his slot in Gilas’ 12-man roster to the third window of the just concluded FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers, with Converge rookie Juan Gomez De Liano eventually filling in the spot.
“Scottie has a really, really bad hamstring that got worse as the series went on,” recalled Cone. “And after Game 7, it was really quite bad.”
The development comes as Brownlee could also be out for a couple of weeks as the Kings seek a fitting follow up to their championship run in the mid-season conference.
The Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player was diagnosed with a hamstring strain, a peroneal tendinopathy on his right leg, and a swelling and cartiliage defects on his left knee.
Brownlee was already playing with a hurting hamstring during the finals, but unlike Thompson, vailiantly played for the national team in its 106-102 double overtime loss to New Zealand in Auckland last week.
With his badge of injuries increasing by the numbers, the Ginebra import was eventually rested by Gilas in its 92-49 beating at the hands of Australia on Monday in Perth.
But while it may take time for Brownlee to fully recover from his assortment of injures, Cone sees Thompson rejoining Ginebra back after just a short time.
“But you know, Scottie, he’s a warrior and if he’s gonna find a way back, he’s gonna find a way back,” said Cone. “But we’re gonna really miss him.”
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