FROM an abrupt end to his PBA comeback last season, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson makes another return, rejoining the TNT Tropang Giga in pursuit of glory in PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup.
"RHJ" and the Tropang Giga kick off their campaign versus the NorthPort Batang Pier in the 7:30 p.m. mainer Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
A winning mix in the Season 47 edition, the Hollis-Jefferson led TNT team starts afresh with additional size from Henry Galinato and CJ Payawal, and firepower from Rey Nambatac.
Coach Chot Reyes and his troops are bent on a turnaround from a scrambling campaign last season where they failed to get past the quarterfinals both in the Governors' Cup and in the all-Filipino tourney.
Their title-retention quest in the import-flavored conference fizzled out early with Hollis-Jefferson sustaining an injury.
Sponsored content: As merely the eighth seeds, they were bundled out by the top-seeded Magnolia Hotshots in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, the Batang Pier then finished two rungs up on the Tropang Giga in the elims.
But coach Bonnie Tan and his chargers also failed to get past the quarterfinals, beaten by the then twice-to-beat sixth-seeded Barangay Ginebra Kings.
They're now banking on Tayloy Johns for a better showing, if not going all the way to contend for the crown.
Johns is 30 years old from the University of California at Riverside, bannering a NorthPort team with top locals in Arvin Tolentino, William Navarro and Joshua Munzon.
Sponsored content: In the off-season, they gave away a big in Zav Lucero in deals that brought them Jio Jalalon, Abu Tratter and Sidney Onwubere.
In Johns, the Batang Pier got an import that's a veteran of various leagues around the world. He's fresh from a stint with Indonesian club Kesatria after tours of duty in Slovenia, Greece, Israel, Finland and Slovakia among others.
The Tropang Giga and the Batang Pier open their campaigns in Day Two of the season after a grand festivities marked by Meralco's triumphant season debut versus Magnolia.(SB)
