Brownlee, RHJ to Lock Horns Again in PBA Finals

THE PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup Finals will feature another Justin Brownlee and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson rivalry match, with Barangay Ginebra and TNT Tropang Giga advancing to the final round. 

Ginebra and TNT are back in the finals, as everyone predicted, and fans will have another chance to see a legendary duel of behemoths as Brownlee and Hollis-Jefferson lock horns once more. 

Both of the finalists in last season’s Governors’ Cup finished their respective semifinals series with a 4-1 win-loss record, but the route back to the promised land was not the same for the two famous clubs.

Two Different Stories

On Friday, the Tropang Giga became the first team to advance to the finals, defeating the tenacious Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, who’s been playing inspired basketball throughout the whole season, 97-92. 

Following that, the Gin Kings went on a tear, defeating the number one seeded team in the elimination round, NorthPort Batang Pier, 126-99, in front of a packed crowd at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. 

Ginebra clearly has a better rhythm coming into their best-of-seven finals series against TNT. In addition, Tropang Giga’s floor general Jayson Castro is out for the season due to an injury.

However, this emphasizes the concept of Hollis-Jefferson carrying the entire squad on his shoulders against Brownlee. Last night, he scored 17 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter, adding 11 rebounds and four assists. 

With everything pointing to a single end-game path, will Brownlee finally get his revenge? Or will RHJ continue his masterpiece against the Ginebra import, handing TNT another trophy this year?

Third Time’s A Charm?

Brownlee, on the other hand, previously had a perfect 6-0 record in the finals. However, Hollis-Jefferson ruined everything with two Governors’ Cup losses, going 2-0 against the Ginebra star import. 

Throughout his PBA career, the TNT star import appeared to be his kryptonite. The Gilas Pilipinas member is hoping that third time is a charm for him.

“You know what they say, hopefully, third time’s a charm. It’s gonna be a hard-fought battle for us, they’ve been playing well the last two finals. So, hopefully we’ll get a different outcome than the past two,” said Brownlee.

“We’re looking forward to it. I think we’re more ready than ever. So, hopefully, everything just comes together on March 14,” he went on to say during an interview after their semifinals Game 5 victory.

Greatness Against Greatness

Meanwhile, Ginebra head coach Tim Cone admitted that the Tropang Giga remains a dangerous opponent even without Castro. Chot Reyes, the head coach of TNT, leads him 4-3 in their head-to-head coaching duel.

“You saw what TNT did. People don’t realize how good a coach Chot Reyes is. He’s an outstanding coach. They lost a key player (Jayson) and they just kept moving forward,” said Cone of his former top deputy in Gilas.

With everything on the line, the first game of the highly anticipated best-of-seven finals between Barangay Ginebra and TNT Tropang Gigas will begin on Friday, March 14, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.