PBA Finals: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson anchors TNT defense vs Justin Brownlee in Game 2 win

Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had himself a game to propel TNT past Barangay Ginebra, leveling their PBA Governors’ Cup Finals showdown at 1-1 on Wednesday.

Hollis-Jefferson notched 23 points, 19 rebounds and nine assists in a 95-82 victory that had TNT in the driver’s seat from start to finish.

What’s more impressive was that Hollis-Jefferson also made a big impact on the other end where he anchored a stifling defensive effort by TNT in containing Justin Brownlee.

“I just wanted to win. Jolas (coach Jojo Lastimosa) knows this about me. Even if I don’t score, I want to win. If you need me to guard Justin the whole game for other guys to step up and score more or for me to facilitate more, I’m cool with that,” Hollis-Jefferson said.

“I’ve been a defender my whole life. It’s nothing for me to turn off or turn up my score. It’s just about adjusting to what we need in those moments and I feel like I did a really good job at that,” he added.

Brownlee was held to a conference-low 12 points on just 3-of-16 shooting from the field. He also missed all of his five tries from downtown, ending his 77-game streak of making at least a 3-pointer which began in the 2019 Governors’ Cup.

“At the end of the day, it was our will to win. We stayed resilient, we made runs and we believed the system. I got to give credit to the whole team,” said the 28-year-old Hollis-Jefferson.

Despite Hollis-Jefferson’s superb effort on both ends that saw him play 47 minutes and eight seconds in a pressure-packed game, his coach Jojo Lastimosa has no doubt the former NBA veteran still has a lot more to show in what he expects to be a “long series” ahead.

“Rondae is giving his everything but I know he still has a lot left in the tank,” Lastimosa said.

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