APPARENTLY, a pulled hamstring wasn't the only thing Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had been dealing with.
Following an epic Game 7, Hollis-Jefferson revealed that he also suffered an injury to his abdomen area in Game 6 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals after diving for a loose ball near the TNT bench and crashing into the LED board.
“From the last game when I ran into the speaker, (it) hit in between my rib cage,” said Hollis-Jefferson. “I’m no doctor, I can’t tell you what’s going on exactly, but it feels like a hernia or something because it is connected to my groin.”
As it was, RHJ was already playing with a pulled hamstring that he suffered during Game Four of the semifinals against Rain or Shine.
Hollis-Jefferson played through those injuries in Game 7 where he finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds to lift the Tropang Giga to an 87-83 overtime win over Barangay Ginebra and onto a second successive championship this season.
READ: TNT outlasts Ginebra in Game 7 classic to win back-to-back titles
However, the import's injury to the abdomen area acted up again during the overtime period, and he was even seen being assisted by TNT assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga during a huddle just so he could stand up.
There was also a point in the overtime period where TNT played all-Filipino with RHJ injured. When interviewed by media after Game 7, he was sitting down as well, visibly still feeling the effects of the injury.
“My abdomen was locking. At the same time, my groin was locking. I couldn’t really move my leg, so I needed to sit down,” said Hollis-Jefferson, who has been known to have the stamina to play all 48 minutes and to have a dislike to be pulled out of a game to sit on the bench.
“I wouldn't have sat down for that last shot, but I probably would have been a liability out there.”
RHJ's warrior mentality
Still, the three-time Best Import left it all on the floor for the Tropang Giga.
“I’m banged up. But I’m sure, they’re (Ginebra) banged up as well. I said to myself I wouldn't make any excuses. I just tried my best," he said.
TNT coach Chot Reyes later described that RHJ's effort to be ‘warrior-like.’
Hollis-Jefferson said the championship will go down as the toughest he has won, just with the pain that he had to endure because of injuries.
“For sure,” he answered in the affirmative after being asked if, indeed, this title was the toughest to get. “They was in there celebrating and I was sitting down. It hurts (injury)."
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