TNT vs Ginebra battle of imports, coaches

MANILA, Philippines — Hat-trick for TNT’s Rondae Hollis-Jefferson or breakthrough for Barangay Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee?

Two of the greatest imports to strut their stuff in the country get set for the third chapter of their explosive matchup in the PBA, this time with the Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup title on the line.

Hollis-Jefferson got the better of Brownlee in their first golden duel in the Season 47 Governors’ Cup in 2023 then did an encore in defending the said title in Season 49.

“Hopefully, the third time, as they say, is the charm,” said Brownlee, whose squad fell to RHJ-led TNT in six games in each of their first two clashes.

“They’ve been having our numbers, they’ve been playing well in the past two finals so hopefully we can just get in there, change some stuff around and have a different outcome there than the past two,” Brownlee added.

JB did experience one triumph against RHJ but in the 2023 Asian Games in China, where the former’s Gilas Pilipinas beat the latter’s Jordan, 70-60, in the gold medal match.

But Hollis-Jefferson has been the biggest thorn in Brownlee’s bid to become the winningest import in the history of Asia’s first play-for-pay league. The Ginebra resident reinforcement is tied with Sean Chambers with six championships each.

“We know each other, we played lot of games against each other and I think it’s going to come down to willpower, who wants it more, things like that,” said RHJ, who is also on track for a third Best Import accolade which would put him level with Brownlee and Allen Durham at No. 2 in the all-time list.

The TNT-Ginebra rivalry duel won’t be complete without the coaching battle of two great minds, Chot Reyes of the Tropang Giga and Tim Cone of the Gin Kings.

“People don’t realize how good a coach Chot Reyes is – he’s an outstanding coach. They lost a key player (Jayson Castro) and they just kept right on moving forward. They’re playing with such togetherness and such effort especially on the defensive side and they aren’t skipping a beat, “ said Cone.

“If this series (semis against Rain or Shine) was difficult, that next one is going to be maybe 10 times even more difficult. So we need to rest and find ways to make sure that we are able to come out and play our best. That’s our only way to compete. If we do not play at our best, we have no chance against that kind of talent, against that good team,” said Reyes.

The latest edition of the TNT-Ginebra entanglement, another race-to-four affair, will kick off on Friday at the MOA Arena.