RONDAE Hollis-Jefferson is expecting a gritty Justin Brownlee in their third meeting in the finals, this time in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup.
Hollis-Jefferson has been on the winning side of their match-up in championship series, overcoming Brownlee’s Barangay Ginebra in the 2023 and 2024 Governors’ Cup finals.
The 30-year-old TNT import said his counterpart definitely doesn’t want to fall for the third straight time in the finals, so he expects that Brownlee will be going all-out to change the narrative.
READ: PBA returns to MOA Arena for Game One of Ginebra-TNT finale
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Hollis-Jefferson. “Again, he is a phenomenal player, excellent person, and he wants to win. You can tell with the way he steps up, the way he leads his team, he wants to win.”
“I know this is the third time we are facing off. I know he is feeling that feeling of like, not again, not again. So I’m looking forward to it.”
And not just Justin
RHJ expects the same mentality from the other Gin Kings, as it should during the finals. He's also bracing for different players such as Troy Rosario and even Scottie Thompson to take turns with Brownlee in guarding him in the series.
“From the games that I watched him, he plays extremely hard,” he said of Rosario. “I think more than talent, more than a guy that can make a jump shot, I think someone that plays hard is something that excites me. I know he’ll guard me and I’m looking forward to it.”
“Every time I have those moments where I go up against a guy like him or Thompson, they make me better. They bring the best out of me so I’m looking forward to it,” continued the two-time Best Import award.
While Ginebra will be out to break its losing spell, Hollis-Jefferson said the Tropang Giga remain motivated to win another crown.
READ: Chot admits Castro's absence makes TNT's title bid a lot harder
Even more, TNT has a chip on its shoulder in playing in the finals without injured Jayson Castro, down with a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee.
“Jayson is composed and he is our leader. He keeps us calm. He controls the game in crucial moments. You all see it. We all know what he brings to the table. So I can say we can harp on that and think about that," said Hollis-Jefferson.
"But you know, in basketball, things happen. Life takes its course, but we got to have the next man up mentality and I think we’ll be able to embrace that and kind of take it from there and you know make the best of it,” he added.
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