PBA: Past losses continue to fire up Rondae Hollis-Jefferson

TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson during the PBA Finals press conference.–PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—Rondae Hollis-Jefferson takes notes and never forgets. If there’s one word to describe the TNT import aptly–it’s vindictive.

“I still hold on to my senior high school loss to Lower Merion, Kobe’s high school. I still hold on to that to this day,” said Hollis-Jefferson during the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals press conference on Thursday.

“I hold on to my Elite 8 loss to Frank Kaminsky. Those things motivate me to take a step higher, work even harder and not run out of battery,” the former Arizona Wildcat added, referring to fellow former NBA veteran Frank Kaminsky, who was the star at Wisconsin during his college days.

READ: PBA: Rondae Hollis-Jefferson leading Brownlee for Best Import

Just a month ago in TNT’s win over Shabazz Muhammad and Magnolia in the conference group play, Hollis-Jefferson recalled losing to Muhammad in a championship game in college.

On Sunday, Hollis-Jefferson will have more than enough motivation against Justin Brownlee and Ginebra in Game 1 of the PBA Finals in Antipolo.

“I’m still not over that loss against Gilas when I was in Jordan,” said Hollis-Jefferson, which drew small laughs from some of the people in attendance during the press conference.

Hollis-Jefferson, though, meant everything he said in all seriousness. He was pertaining to last year’s Asian Games where he and the Jordan national team fell to the Brownlee-led Gilas Pilipinas in the gold medal game. That Philippine team also had Ginebra coach Tim Cone at the helm.

“I’m a competitor at the end of the day. I look forward every time we match up against each other. I know we’ll give our all, we’ll work hard and we’ll make it exciting,” said Hollis-Jefferson, who has been suiting up for Jordan as a naturalized player since July 2023.

The upcoming finals marks the second meeting between Hollis-Jefferson and Brownlee in a PBA title series. Hollis-Jefferson led TNT to the Governors’ Cup crown last year after turning back Ginebra in six games which happened six months before the Asian Games finale.

“I look at this as him being a phenomenal player. He’s excellent and I know he’s going to bring his A-game and do everything to help his team win so that just gives me motivation.”