HERE COMES RONDAE

Games today:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)

5 p.m. —Rain or Shine vs Blackwater

7 p.m. — TNT vs Northport

TNT Tropang Giga Chot Reyes knows that the surefire way to defend their Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup title is to have two things: Continuity and familiarity.

And that’s exactly what the seasoned guru wants to have when he brought in an import who knows his system like the back of his hand — Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

Hollis-Jefferson will be making his third tour of duty for the Tropang Giga when they open their title defense against NorthPort on Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Action starts at 7 p.m. with the Tropang Giga determined to make an explosive start against a very dangerous Batang Pier squad that will parade a deadly backcourt featuring Jio Jalalon, rookie Evan Nelle, Fran Yu and Joshua Munzon.

Also batting for continuity is Rain or Shine, which will face Blackwater in the 5 p.m. appetizer of the second day of this season-opening conference.

The Elasto Painters had a strong off-season in which they ruled the 39th Kadayawan Invitational Basketball Tournament in Davao City early this month.

But Elasto Painters coach Yeng Guiao stressed that the title was just a cherry on top.

“Yes, it gives us confidence coming into this conference. But we also used that experience to test our import in Aaron Fuller,” said Guiao, who is also putting premium on familiarity by hiring an import who already played with him when he was still handling NLEX in 2017 and 2018.

“I know what he’s capable of but it’s better if he’s able to jell with his teammates. His teammates should be able to know him better and develop some chemistry and bond with his teammates.”

Guiao’s principle is similar to that of Reyes.

By bringing in Hollis-Jefferson, who replaced Darius Days a few days before the opening day last Sunday, Reyes is getting away with the “honeymoon period” between his reinforcement and the local players.

Reyes, however, admitted that the hardworking, do-it-all Hollis-Jefferson remains rusty despite coming off a quarterfinal run with the Mets de Guaynabo in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional in Puerto Rico. Hollis-Jefferson averaged 17.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists before Guaynabo bowed to Leones de Ponce in six games for a chance to advance to the semifinals.

‘I look forward to getting out there.’

Prior to that, he powered Atléticos de San Germán in the same league and the Jordanian national squad in the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Manila and the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.

“I’d say he’s about 80 to 85 percent,” Reyes said in a short message to DAILY TRIBUNE when asked about the condition of his prized reinforcement.

In his latest stint with TNT, Hollis-Jefferson will be greeted by familiar faces like Calvin Oftana, Roger Pogoy, Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams.

“I love playing with Jayson, Kelly, Calvin, Roger — all those guys. I look forward to getting out there,” said Hollis-Jefferson, who averaged 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game in his previous tour of duty with TNT in which he emerged as Best Import.

Reyes, however, remains cautious as other teams also made serious overhauls of their respective rosters.