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DOUBLED. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in action for the TNT Tropang Giga in the 2024-25 PBA Commissioner's Cup.
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TNT import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson holds the ball too long and fails to get a shot off in time in the final two possessions of their Game 2 loss to Barangay Ginebra in the PBA Commissioner's Cup finals
MANILA, Philippines – Rondae Hollis-Jefferson owned up to his endgame blunders as TNT fell short of a 2-0 lead in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals.
Hollis-Jefferson held the ball too long and failed to get a shot off in time in the final two possessions of their 71-70 loss to Barangay Ginebra on Sunday, March 16.
Tasked to deliver the game-winner with 7.3 seconds left, the two-time Best Import lost the ball after being double-teamed and ran out of time.
It was a similar scenario to the previous play in which Hollis-Jefferson committed a shot-clock violation as he opted to keep the ball instead of dishing it off to his teammates despite being triple-teamed.
“That’s on me,” said Hollis-Jefferson. “That’s something I want to get better at, you know. That’s something I want to get better at or grow from it.”
“I’ll watch it. I’m not afraid to see where I messed up, where I made a mistake.”
Hollis-Jefferson still finished with 25 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks, but he needed to work for every basket as he made just 6 of his 25 field goals for a lowly 26% clip.
The Gin Kings tightened their defense on the former NBA player after he wreaked havoc with a near-triple-double of 34 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists on 14-of-29 shooting for the Tropang Giga in their 95-89 Game 1 win.
And in the final possession of Game 2, Ginebra zeroed in on Hollis-Jefferson to seal the win.
“They don’t want me to get the shot off the last seconds. They knew I wanted to shoot the ball, but when I lost it, I just couldn’t pick it back up, and rest was history,” he said.
“Credit to Ginebra, they played excellent defense, made it really tough for us.”
Hollis-Jefferson and TNT go back to the drawing board as they look to shake off their offensive struggles for Game 3 on Wednesday, March 19, at the PhilSports Arena after being limited to their lowest scoring output of the conference.
The Tropang Giga shot just 33% (24-of-73) from the field and 19% (6-of-31) from beyond the arc.
“You got to keep shooting,” said Hollis-Jefferson. “It’s all about believing in yourself first and your teammates believing in you as well.” – Rappler.com
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