Head-to-head: Gilas' Brownlee, Jordan's Hollis-Jefferson meet again in Asian Games finals

Two familiar names in Philippine basketball will go head-to-head in the 19th Asian Games when the Philippines faces Jordan in the men's basketball gold medal event on Friday.

And while the two only recently started to cross paths, Justin Brownlee and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson are building quite the history with each other with just how important their head-to-head meetings have turned out.

Bannering Gilas Pilipinas is the naturalized Brownlee, a three-time PBA Best Import. He has won six PBA titles as the resident import of Barangay Ginebra, coming within one championship of becoming the winning import in PBA history.

Reinforcing Jordan, meanwhile, is the prolific RHJ, a former NBA player who is the reigning PBA Governors' Cup Best Import, just edging Brownlee for the award. The two also faced off in the finals of the the conference, where Hollis-Jefferson's TNT Tropang Giga defeated Brownlee's Ginebra in six games.

In anticipation of what should be another explosive battle in the Asian Games gold medal match, here's a look back at the past head-to-head matchups between the two basketball stars:

March 17, 2023
PBA Governors' Cup elimination round
TNT 114-105 Ginebra

In their first meeting in the PBA, Hollis-Jefferson put up 34 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and four steals as TNT clinched the top seed by winning their eighth consecutive game. Brownlee was no slouch, posting 27 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists in the loss.

April 9, 2023
PBA Governors' Cup Finals: Game 1
Ginebra 102-90 TNT

The two met again in Game 1 of the Finals series between Ginebra and TNT and this time, it was Brownlee's squad that came out on top. The Gilas naturalized player was stellar, scoring 31 points, including 6-for-11 shooting from beyond the arc. He also had 12 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. RHJ turned in a massive 30-20 performance, but that was far from enough in this game.

April 12, 2023
PBA Governors' Cup Finals: Game 2
TNT 95-82 Ginebra

Both players came close to notching triple-doubles in this contest, but Hollis-Jefferson's numbers of 23 points, 19 rebounds, and nine assists were just massive in comparison to Brownlee's 12 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. Brownlee's Ginebra battled in this one, nearly erasing a huge TNT lead though RHJ's teammates made some big three-pointers late to put this game away.

April 14, 2023
PBA Governors' Cup Finals: Game 3
Ginebra 117-103 TNT

Brownlee again showed up in a big way - although more importantly, so did his teammates - as Ginebra took a 2-1 series lead over Hollis-Jefferson's TNT. The Gilas bet exploded for 29 points, eight rebounds, and five assists against his counterpart's 32 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists.

April 16, 2023
PBA Governors' Cup Finals: Game 4
TNT 116-104 Ginebra

On the day he was named Best Import, Hollis-Jefferson lived up to the billing, detonating for 36 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and three steals, as his TNT side cruised to a Game 4 victory. Brownlee again acquitted well with a 28-point, five-board, four-assist performance.

April 19, 2023
PBA Governors' Cup Finals: Game 5
TNT 104-95 Ginebra

This one probably could be marked with an asterisk as Brownlee was unable to finish the game with a bout of food poisoning. Still, in the minutes he did play, he managed to put up 14 points, four rebounds, and an assist. But RHJ's numbers were undeniable as his 32-point, 16-rebound, 10-assist triple-double - the first for either player in their head-to-head series - towed TNT to the crucial win.

April 21, 2023
PBA Governors' Cup Finals: Game 6
TNT 97-93 Ginebra

The Gilas star was back to his usual form after his early exit in Game 5, lighting it up for 29 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists. RHJ did well to go toe-to-toe with him with 29-14-6 for himself. But neither player was the story of this game as they were overshadowed by Mikey Williams' 38 points and nine three-pointers in the close-out game.

September 30, 2023
Asian Games 2023: Group stage
Jordan 87-62 Philippines

RHJ once again got the better of Brownlee in their most recent clash, as his Jordan side turned a seven-point game into a fourth quarter-blowout against Gilas. Both players finished with 24 points, though Hollis-Jefferson also put up six boards and nine dimes against just two and three, respectively, for Brownlee. 

What's next?

The two players have obviously been stellar every time they play against each other and the looming gold medal game should be no exception.

Brownlee has been on a tear in the Asian Games, particularly in the last two games where he scored 36 and 33 in contests that Gilas literally has needed every single one of those points. Hollis-Jefferson has not needed to put up gaudy numbers in the knockout rounds as his team has won by 21 and 19 points in the quarters and semis.

With a historic gold at stake, who among the two reinforcements will tow their national teams to Asian Games basketball domination?

—JMB, GMA Integrated News