THEY may be foes on court, but TNT’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has nothing but well wishes for Ginebra counterpart Justin Brownlee, who went down with a severe case of food poisoning in Game 5 of the PBA Governors’ Cup finals on Wednesday.
RHJ on Justin Brownlee
Hollis-Jefferson hopes the 34-year-old Brownlee would be fine and good enough to rejoin the Kings in time for Game 6 of the title series, which the Tropang Giga now leads, 3-2.
“I’m not speaking on a basketball side. I just want to feel better, and as a human I wish no food poisoning of no one. Again I love his (Brownlee) game and I found him to be a phenomenal person,” said the winner of the Best Import Award when told Brownlee was brought to the hospital following the Kings’ 104-95 loss to the Tropang Giga at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I just want him to feel better, take care of his body, and take care of whatever he needs to.”
Brownlee exited the game with 7:19 to play in the third period and the game tied at 65 as he began vomiting on the team bench
It turned out, he was already not feeling well going into the game after eating something at lunch that made him feel sick later on.
He was put under IV fluids before the game, but still played the first half and scored all of his 14 points during that stretch.
His condition, however, caught up with him in the second half, prompting coach Tim Cone to take him out of the court for good, before heading back to the team locker room.
The Tropang Texters were quick to pounce in the opportunity as Hollis-Jefferson scored 20 of his game-high 32 points as Brownlee left the Kings.
The former NBA player finished with a triple-double after adding 16 rebounds and 10 assists.
The TNT import says he will pray for Brownlee to get well and hopefully, feel good for him to be able to suit up for Friday’s game.
“If he can play next game, let’s do it. If not, at the end of the day basketball is something that brings a lot of people together, but it’s not what keeps you together,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s about yourself, it’s about taking care of yourself. I will pray for him and sends my well wishes to him.”
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