DESPITE getting off to a flying start in the PBA Governors’ Cup, TNT decided to replace athletic import Jalen Hudson with NBA veteran Rondae Hollis-Jefferson early this week.

TNT new coach Jojo Lastimosa confirmed the development, saying the team “wanted a new import who can play inside.”

“We wanted to have a bigger import who can play inside [and] also free up our wing position for the locals,” said Lastimosa, whose team tangles with Blackwater (1-5) today, February 15, at 3 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The amiable TNT mentor, however, mentioned that at press time, the team is still securing Hollis-Jefferson’s clearance. Should they fail to get it in time for today’s game, Hudson will play against the Bossing.

Lastimosa said Hollis-Jefferson’s skill sets are his biggest assets to a team that is itching to win its first import-spiced conference championship since the 2015 Commissioner’s Cup. That conference, the Tropang Giga, then known as the Tropang Texters, went on to beat the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in seven games in the Finals behind mercurial import Ivan Johnson.

“He has high motor skills and plays an all around game,” he said.

Stats-wise, Hudson has been impressive after leading TNT to a 5-1 start, en route to a share of the lead in the standings with San Miguel Beer and Converge.

The 26-year-old Hudson averaged solid numbers of 33.8 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists through six games, including a red-hot 41 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

As for Hollis-Jefferson, the incoming import is bringing into his new team an impressive pro basketball resume that includes being selected 23rd overall by the Portland Trailblazers in the opening round of the 2015 NBA Draft.

His draft rights, though, were eventually traded to the Brooklyn Nets, where he went on to play for four seasons in the NBA. He averaged an NBA career-best 13.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 68 games played during the 2017-18 season.

He played a total of six seasons in the NBA, winding up with the Blazers in the 2020-21 season, before seeing action overseas in Turkey, Puerto Rico and just recently, in Korea with the Jeonju KCC Egis.