RONDAE Hollis-Jefferson valued the first Best Import award of his career and dedicated it to people who sacrificed for him to be in the position he is in at the moment.
“It means a lot. There’s a lot within it,” said the TNT reinforcement after being adjudged as the best in this latest crop of imports in the PBA Governors' Cup. “Just being grateful, giving gratitude to people who sacrificed for me to be here.”
The former NBA player won over sentimental favorite Justin Brownlee of Barangay Ginebra, totaling 1,147 points as he topped the statistical points (619) and votes among the media (457).
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He lost out to Brownlee on players’ votes, but by just a narrow margin, 76-71.
A first-round pick of Portland in the 2015 NBA draft, Hollis-Jefferson validated his award by coming through with a game-high 36 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and three steals to lead TNT to a 116-104 win over the Kings that tied the best-of-seven finals at 2-2.
He was efficient on the floor with a 61 percent shooting (13-of-21) including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. He was perfect from the foul line on 7-of-7 clip.
The 28-year-old product of Arizona also took his hat off to Brownlee, a three-time winner of the award, who Hollis-Jefferson described as a great player.
But Hollis-Jefferson remained humble even after beating Brownlee for the honor as he offered the award to the entire TNT organization and his family.
“I cannot do it without my teammates, without my family sacrificing,” he said. “I’m missing my kids right now. So all of these little things that I played a part of, being able to win this award, I got to give thanks to those people.”
Heading into Game 5, the TNT import said the Tropang Giga need to stay locked in if they’re going to dethrone the defending champion Kings.
“It’s about preparation. As long as these guys do what they have to do these next two days, coaches included, locked in and focus on game plan and adjustments on what we need to do, at the end of the day, win by any means necessary, I’m sure we’ll be there,” said Hollis-Jefferson.
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