Tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan (second from left) beams as Meralco hoists the Philippine Cup before Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (right) leads TNT to the championship in the Commissioner’s Cup that made it two-out-of-three for MVP teams in Asia’s pioneering pro league. —PHOTOS BY AUGUST DELA CRUZ .
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson doesn’t celebrate Christmas, but he was in a giving mood after TNT’s final game in the year that just passed by gifting teammates, coaches and staff with watches or shoes. “These guys do so much for me,” Hollis-Jefferson, a practicing Muslim, said. “I just want to make them feel that I appreciate them.
” Six months prior, Meralco star Chris Newsome finally realized the feeling he had long envisioned since entering the PBA almost a decade ago, helping highlight 2024 where two of Manny V. Pangilinan’s teams got the upper handover counterparts from rival San Miguel Corporation. The Bolts ruled the Philippine Cup in Cinderella fashion after Newsome’s corner jumper defeated the San Miguel Beermen, who had a habit of winning the PBA’s most prestigious tournament.
“I didn’t know it’s gonna happen like this,” Newsome said as he soaked in the euphoria of being on the PBA mountaintop at long last. “It’s nice that I was able to stick it out with Meralco, the team that drafted me, the team that believed in me since Day One.” Newsome and Meralco won it to close out Season 48 before Hollis-Jefferson and TNT opened Season 49 that introduced a he.
