The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, returning from a long layoff, turned in a dream quarterfinals series for TNT — and a nightmare for Magnolia.
The Hotshots entered the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup playoffs as the top seed from Group B.
But they ran into a different TNT team with the return of RHJ.
The champion import looked like his old self even after returning from an ACL tear, leading the Tropang 5G to a three-game sweep of the Hotshots capped by a 98-87 triumph Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Tropang 5G took the quick route to the semis. They now await the winner of the Barangay Ginebra-San Miguel Beer face-off.
“Give credit to Magnolia, they played a wonderful series, making things tough for me and my teammates. But I put the work in every day, I trust the process, I believe in the work and the rest takes care of itself,” said the three-time PBA champion and three-time Best Import awardee.
For the clincher, Hollis-Jefferson had 38 points, nine rebounds and three assists. He was a beast throughout the series, powering TNT to a 92-70 rout in Game 1 and a 91-73 follow-up win in Game 2.
But he refused to take all the credit.
“What stands out for us is playing tough defense. It just so happened we scored very well,” he said.
For TNT coach Chot Reyes, defense was also the biggest key.
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“It’s really the attention to detail and the commitment to play defense,” he said.
“We thought if we could limit their scoring, that would give us a chance to score on the other side. We know they’re No. 1 in the league on defense. We know in a halfcourt situation, we’d have a hard time scoring,” Reyes added.
“We put emphasis on stopping them, making stops to give ourselves more scoring opportunities. Throughout the series, we didn’t shoot very well from the three-point line but we gave ourselves enough opportunities to score elsewhere because of our defense. Our ability to stop them, that’s the key.”
On the eve of All Saints’ Day, TNT made Magnolia bleed for points.
On the other end, RHJ found support from Rey Nambatac (with 13 off the bench), RR Pogoy (12) and Calvin Oftana (10).