Rondae Hollis-Jefferson has gotten so used to logging heavy minutes that sitting out the entire fourth quarter of TNT’s eventual win over Ginebra in Game 5 of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals on Wednesday night felt so foreign to him.
The conference’s reigning two-time Best Import was subbed out by Coach Chot Reyes late in the third quarter, and the contest would soon be reduced to an all-Filipino matchup as the Kings pulled out Justin Brownlee as well.
“It felt weird, actually,” he told reporters moments after the 99-72 victory at the SMART Araneta Coliseum that gave them the 3-2 lead in the series.
“In this conference, I don’t know if it’s a fact or not, but I don’t think I sat whenever an import is at a game. I think it was the start of the fourth or something but Justin was on the bench and I was just like, ‘This feels weird.'”
But it was rather a welcome development for RHJ, who had been playing with little to no rest in this series. Game 2 and 3 saw him play all 48 minutes.
In Game 5, he only played for 31 minutes and finished with 16 points, the lowest he’s had in this Finals. Still, he had 10 rebounds, three assists, and a block.
Needless to say, it gets him well-rested for Game 6 on Friday at the Big Dome, where the Tropang GIga could finish it off and retain the throne.
“I don’t remember the last time I had rest in the fourth quarter, so we’ll see how it feels,” said Hollis-Jefferson, who hopes for his second PBA title.
“I’m gonna get in the gym, do what I do always, and have some good legs for y’all. I might make the dunk next time,” the 29-year-old winger added with a smile, pertaining to his missed dunk during the second quarter.
Hollis-Jefferson was indeed glad with how Game 5 turned out but that doesn’t make him too comfortable whatsoever heading into the potential clincher.
“We know what’s at stake. And we know that at the end of the day, we’re one win away from being champions. So we know how they’ll come out, we know they’ll feel that kind of feeling of like, ‘We gotta do this, it’s now or never,'” he said.
“So with that, we have to be a team that is as cohesive as ever and locked in on what we have to do,” the former NBA veteran added. “I feel like our game plan and our mindset at the end of the day will take care of the rest.”
