MANILA, Philippines – Late in the third quarter, import Justin Brownlee, a six-time Barangay Ginebra champion, entered the dugout ahead of the other players while wearing a towel over his head.

The damage has been done, and he has been hurt. The PBA Governors’ Cup was all but secured when the game ended as the TNT Tropang Giga triumphantly marched to the showers.

In front of a crowd of almost 10,000 on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the Tropang Giga took advantage of Brownlee’s early exit by winning 104 to 95 to take a crucial 3 to 2 series lead heading into the race to four games.

As a result, they were able to secure the critical victory with an 8-0 last punch.

The Tropa broke the back-and-forth pattern in the series with a triple-double performance from Hollis-Jefferson (32 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists), 20 points from Calvin Oftana (including four 3-pointers), and 8 boards from four other TNT players.

But because he thinks Brownlee will be back in action on Friday, Lastimosa is preparing for a very difficult battle. Of “Kabayan JB,” Lastimosa remarked, “He’s a warrior.”

In the little over 25 minutes that he was given in Game 5, Brownlee managed to score 14 points on 6-of-11 field goals.

As the Kings went on an unexpected run in the second quarter and took control at 61 to 49 heading into halftime, Brownlee teamed up with Christian Standhardinger and Nards Pinto.

The Tropa, on the other hand, bounced back from that Ginebra shock, coming back from a 15-point hole to get back in the game at 61 to 63 before cruising to an 81 to 79 lead going into the final canto.

With Brownlee being attended by their personnel in the dugout in the fourth inning, the Tropang Giga is unstoppable.

In a second-quarter rally led by a 15-to-nothing roll from a 39-all count, Standhardinger, Brownlee, and Pinto stole the show.

Standhardinger led the team with 18 points and seven rebounds at the break, followed by Brownlee with 14 points and four boards, and Pinto with 10 points, two rebounds, the same number of assists, and the same number of steals.

But Hollis-Jefferson and his teammates displayed their own refusal to give up by beginning the third with a strong 14 to 2 run that tied the score at 63 all.

Erram, Hollis-Jefferson, and Castro combined for the decisive bomb with TNT on the verge of winning the game with a tiny lead at 96 to 95 in the final four minutes.