“Forty-eight”
That’s how many minutes TNT Tropang Giga super import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson played in TNT’s Game 2 win over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
“Six”
That’s how many triples RHJ hit in this same game, many of them clean, uncontested looks.
Hollis-Jefferson isn’t surprised. Neither is TNT coach Chot Reyes.
The leading candidate for Best Import of the Conference was built for this moment. He has been working hard at it.
Hollis-Jefferson Says Hard Work Is Just Paying Off
For Hollis-Jefferson, his no-relief job in Game 2 is not at all a big deal because (a) he is ready for it and (b) he welcomes it.
“I was blessed. I gotta give credit to God at the end of the day to be able to compete at a high level and sustain it for a long time,” RHJ told reporters after Game 2. “It also comes with the work ethic, putting in the extra work, cardio… running, not touching a basketball in workouts… Chot [Reyes] is gonna be in shape, so I know I can’t come to the season catching my breath. When I came here, I just got to be ready. He’ll tell you, I’ll be the first to say I don’t wanna come out.”
Reyes concurred, jokingly telling reporters. “’Pag nilalabas ko siya, sinisigawan ako e.”
As for those six triples, RHJ pointed out they’re just a product of his hard work—and meeting a challenge head-on.
“It was basically a shift in mindset. In the Asian Games, they [the Tim Cone-coached Gilas Pilipinas] forced me to shoot a lot of threes, and they beat us [Jordan] in the gold medal game,” Hollis-Jefferson said. “We talked about that, and I just shifted my mindset. I knew that was gonna be the game plan, and they were willing to live with that the whole game. I guess they thought it was a fluke… But I’m a professional player, I work on it every day. And I believe, my teammates and coaches, they believe and tell me to shoot it.”
It looked that way. Ginebra seemed to be daring RHJ to shoot that trey ball all game long. He missed his first three. He kept shooting anyway. He trusted all that hard work, all those extra shots in practice. And the threes started falling, starting with back-to-back triples to open the second quarter and give TNT the lead after falling behind 21-11 in the first. RHJ hit four more after that.
Indeed, Ginebra picked its poison in Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. Too bad he was ready for it. Expect him to be ready for Game 3—and play every minute of it if need be.
