RONDAE Hollis-Jefferson has belief in his teammates that TNT can pull off a rare season grand slam at the end of the Philippine Cup.
Being an all-local conference, Hollis-Jefferson won’t be around to help the Tropang 5G in their bid to claim the Philippine Cup and a grand slam. which only Crispa (twice), San Miguel, Alaska, and San Mig Coffee had pulled off in league history.
RHJ said he will continue to support his teammates in their Philippine Cup title bid even if he is going to be away for the meantime.
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“I believe in my guys, man,” said Hollis-Jefferson. “I believe that the energy, the aura that I’ve come in with and that I continue to give to them that they would let it lead them into the All-Filipino."
But for TNT to win the grand slam, Hollis-Jefferson said the stars must also align, stressing that the Tropang 5G must also avoid injuries in the season-ending conference.
“Everyone stays healthy, everyone works hard, the sky is the limit,” said RHJ.
Hollis-Jefferson has now won three PBA titles with TNT, all of which came at the expense of Barangay Ginebra. The Tropang Giga defeated the Gin Kings, 87-83, in Game 7 of the Commissioner's Cup last week.
The 30-year-old former NBA player said the relationship between him and the team has become deep especially with the way TNT dug in and won the last two games of the best-of-seven finals against Ginebra.
“I’m proud of these guys. To be punched, how we were punched with those tough games, we were kind of out of it. Our heads were somewhere else,” said RHJ.
“We decided to eat together as a team. We ate together. We just talked. After we ate, we made a circle and we talked about what it is we were feeling, what it is we were thinking. I know this game of basketball is something. We want to win.
"But these guys, these men, I consider them brothers. Chot has said the same. Jolas has said the same. Our number one thing over every team is our connectively. We may not have the most talented players. But you see, we know how to enjoy the game and feed off one another.
"In those games that we lost, I think we lost our connectivity. That’s what Chot preached to us, that’s what the talk is about, that’s what rallied us, belief in the connectivity in your brother to make those shots,” said Hollis-Jefferson.
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