RHJ, Jordan 5 snap Gilas’ streak

MANILA, Philippines — Just like in their recent PBA titular duel, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was a cold-blooded killer against coach Tim Cone and Justin Brownlee.

Flying Jordan’s flag, Hollis-Jefferson hit the big shots and made the big plays to lead his unbeaten team past Cone and Brownlee’s Gilas Pilipinas, 87-62, for Group C’s top seeding and an outright ticket to the Asian Games quarterfinals yesterday in Hangzhou.

Fortunately, unlike in the Governors’ Cup encounter with the TNT import in Manila last May, it’s not the end of the road for the Barangay Ginebra mentor and import in the continental meet.

Finishing second in the group with 2-1, Gilas got one more crack at the knockout rounds through the qualification for quarterfinals stage.

The Filipinos will try to complete their Last-8 advance against Qatar tomorrow. The Qataris took No. 3 seeding in Group D with 1-2 after a 74-67 dispatching of winless Indonesia yesterday.

Should they hurdle Qatar, the Pinoy dribblers will earn the right to face Group A No. 1 Iran in a dispute for a semifinal berth.

Hollis-Jefferson scattered 24 points on a 7-of-17 field goal shooting while dishing out nine assists and grabbing six rebounds as he got the better of Brownlee in Round 2 of their marquee matchup.

The do-it-all player fondly called “RHJ” stepped forward just as Gilas was making a game out of it after falling behind by 14 early.