Rondae vows to be better, wiser in crucial stretch

Expect a fiercer, sharper Rondae Hollis-Jefferson for the rest of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven finals series.

The do-it-all TNT Tropang Giga import vows to bounce back after committing a major blunder in the dying seconds of their 70-71 loss to Barangay Ginebra in Game 2 of their title showdown last Sunday.

Hollis-Jefferson, who scored 25 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks, took the blame after trying to force a shot in the final seconds despite being double-teamed by Stephen Holt and Scottie Thompson.

“They don’t want me to get the shot off at 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 the rest was history,” Hollis-Jefferson said.

“Credit to Ginebra, they played excellent defense, and made it tough for us.”

Luckily for TNT, all is not lost as both teams still need to win four games to capture the midseason conference crown. Game 3 is still being played at press time.

The Jordanian-American swingman swears that he will try to locate his teammates for better looks at the basket while also making sure he gets more shots in. After all, he had a rough night after going 6-of-25 from the field in Game 2.

“You gotta keep shooting. It’s all about believing in yourself first and your teammates believing in you as well,” Hollis-Jefferson said.

Roger Pogoy has Hollis-Jefferson’s back, saying that they all have to be ready to lend him a hand should he make that extra pass.

“I’m ready. Coach (Chot Reyes) also told us to be ready for them to rely on us,” Pogoy said.

“Like I said in the dugout, we will live and die by RHJ.”