RONDAE Hollis-Jefferson welcomed the rest he got in Game 5 of the PBA 49th Season Governors’ Cup Finals that saw him play without relief in two matches.
Hollis-Jefferson logged 31 minutes and 36 seconds on Wednesday, his lowest court time not just in this finals but in the entire playoffs. TNT had the luxury of giving Hollis-Jefferson a breather as the Tropang Giga walloped Barangay Ginebra, 99-72, in a game that was pretty much decided by the third quarter.
TNT coach Chot Reyes previously revealed that he is yelled at by Hollis-Jefferson whenever he is taken out because of the import’s desire to play the entire 48 minutes.
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There was no yelling by the import to his coach this time, as Wednesday was a pleasant exception for RHJ and TNT.
“It felt weird actually to be honest,” said Hollis-Jefferson, when asked about sitting out the entire fourth quarter. “Even before the rest, I don’t know it’s a fact or not but I don’t think I sat whenever an import was in the game.”
Hollis-Jefferson was referring to a part of Game 5 where he was on the bench with Justin Brownlee on the floor.
“I was just like, this feels weird. It felt good,” said Hollis-Jefferson, who played the entire 48 minutes in Games 2 and 3.
RHJ said that extended rest will definitely boost him for the potential closed-out game on Friday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
“I don’t know the last time I had rest in the fourth quarter. We will see how it feels, get in the gym, do what I do always, and have some good legs for you all. I might make the dunk next time,” said Hollis-Jefferson, referring to the dunk that he missed against Japeth Aguilar in the second quarter, causing him to fall hard on the floor.
Hollis-Jefferson had his lowest points output in this finals with 16 points on 5-for-14 shooting from the field. However, the TNT import continued to contribute in other departments by chipping in 10 rebounds, three assists, and a block.
More importantly, Hollis-Jefferson also joined his teammates in reviving their defensive mentality, with Justin Brownlee being held to a PBA career-low eight points.
“You guys know how much we stress the importance of defense all year. You guys know how Chot feels about that. You know how we care about defense and what that means to us. We talked about in practice, in the film session, how can we be better, what we need to do, and that’s what we did. They showed we were locked in,” said the 29-year-old Hollis-Jefferson.
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