JUSTIN Brownlee is expected to suit up for Barangay Ginebra in make-or-break Game Six of the PBA Governors' Cup Finals against TNT, even if he is unlikely to be 100 percent healthy.
The 34-year-old left the hospital on Thursday, according to a Ginebra insider, but didn't attend team practice as the embattled defending champion seeks to stay alive on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
While Brownlee won't be sitting out, the Kings do not expect Brownlee to be fully recovered from a severe case of food poisoning that forced him to leave late in the third quarter of a Game 5 loss to TNT.
READ: What happened to Brownlee? Fans deserve to know
According to teammate, Christian Standhardinger, Brownlee appeared to have eaten something at lunchtime before Game 5, after which he began to feel sick.
The Fil-German big man added Brownlee hardly showed signs he was sick the day before the game, saying the import was his usual self before and after practice.
The Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player eventually had to be administered with IV fluids hours before game time at the Big Dome.
Despite his condition, Brownlee had a strong first half where he scored 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor as the Kings took a 14-point spread and settled for a 61-49 lead at the half.
But the import couldn't sustain his effort as his condition worsened in the third period when he began to chill and was see throwing up in the Ginebra bench.
Brownlee eventually left the game with still seven minutes to play in the period and headed straight to the dugout with a towel draped all over his head.
He was later brought to the hospital.
Without Brownlee, the Tropang Giga capitalized and pulled off a 104-95 victory for a 3-2 series lead and a win away from clinching the title.
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