Brownlee managed to play 25 minutes in Game 5 despite the food poisoning.
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel found themselves in unfamiliar situation: a 3-2 hole in the PBA Governors' Cup finals under coach Tim Cone, the first time in this era.
They have a shot on Friday to even the series or surrender the trophy to the TNT Tropang Giga, which is hungry for the season-ending conference hardware—the only one missing from the squad's championship mantelpiece.
But will the defending champions compete in Game 6 with Justin Brownlee?
The three-time Best Import suffered from food poisoning on April 19, and was visibly lethargic on the court. When Cone took him out in the third quarter, Brownlee was seen vomiting while on the bench and had to walk back to the dugout.
He was eventually sent to the hospital and TNT won 104-95.
On Thursday night, Cone told One Sports about the naturalized Filipino's condition.
"He's out of the hospital but missed practice. We do expect him to play, though we don't expect him to be 100 percent," Cone said.
TNT, for its part, is not expecting an easy Game 6. They expect the crowd-favorite reinforcement to suit up.
"He is also a warrior. So, we’re counting everyone to be present on Friday," coach Jojo Lastimosa told reporters during the post-Game 5 presser last Wednesday.
Game 6 of the PBA Governors' Cup finals will start this Friday, 5:45 PM at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. It will be aired live on TV5 and PBA Rush.
(With reports from Jan Ballesteros, One Sports)