RONDAE Hollis-Jefferson denied he intended to approach the Rain or Shine bench when he figured in a verbal spat with coach Yeng Guiao during TNT's PBA Commissioner’s Cup game at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The former TNT import said he was surprised with the reaction of Guiao during the stoppage of play at the final 49-second mark after his brother Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson was called for a foul while chasing ROS import Tree Treadwell.
Rahlir was later called for a technical foul for complaining, which upset his younger brother.
Hollis-Jefferson said he was merely complaining to the referee for calling a technical foul against his brother, and was merely trying to talk to the referees and get their attention when he headed towards the Rain or Shine bench.
“I didn’t go to their bench,” said Hollis-Jefferson, when asked for his side in the spat. “I was talking to the ref. As you all know, the last game I came to against Ginebra, I was told to get off the bench because I’m not on the roster. Therefore, I’m a fan.”
“Therefore, as a fan, I can move about where I want. I was upset at the ref’s call and I followed the ref down the sideline. The ref will tell you,” said Hollis-Jefferson.
“As a fan, I went to the ref. One, as a fan. And two, that’s my brother. I could be biased, whatever, but I went to the ref to say it’s BS,” said Hollis-Jefferson.
Hollis-Jefferson also claimed that it was Rain or Shine which came to him in an aggressive manner, and even accused Guiao of flashing the middle finger at him.
“They approached me. But I’m a fan. So what’s the issue? I should be able to say what I want as long as I’m not talking to you. I didn’t say anything, anything to one person on that bench. I didn’t look at them. You came to me, aggressive, disrespecting me as a fan,” said Hollis-Jefferson.
“I would never flip you off,” said an upset Hollis-Jefferson. “I’m sure they got that on camera. Him flipping me off. Let’s play that back, please.”
Hollis-Jefferson reiterated he never directly spoke to anyone on the Rain or Shine bench.
“I didn’t say anything to any player, even when they were telling me ‘Get out of here.’ I didn’t say anything to them," he said. "Once the coach said something to me, I looked to him and said, ‘Don’t do that, bro.’ And he will tell you that. But my frustration is to the ref."
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