TNT activate Rondae Hollis-Jefferson for Tuesday return against Macau, 10 months after Achilles rupture

The last time Rondae Hollis-Jefferson played a competitive game, he left it on December 6, 2025, with a ruptured right Achilles tendon. He was playing for Meralco against the Macau Black Bears in the East Asia Super League, and Meralco won the game after he left it. Ten months later, his comeback starts against a team from Macau again, this time in the PBA.

TNT activated Hollis-Jefferson on Monday, October 12. He will play against the Macau Giant Pandas on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in the PBA Governors' Cup. He takes the import slot of Nick Hornsby.

The fourth import of the conference

Hollis-Jefferson is TNT's fourth import of this Governors' Cup. Darius Days opened the conference. Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson, Rondae's brother, replaced him. Hornsby came in after that and played two games, both wins.

TNT beat Terrafirma 116-92 on October 7 and San Miguel Beer 116-98 on Saturday, October 10. Those wins lifted TNT to 6-4, tied with Converge in Group A behind NLEX at 8-2 and San Miguel Beer at 7-3. TNT have two group games left.

What he has won

Hollis-Jefferson is a three-time Best Import. He won it in the 2023 Governors' Cup, the 2024 Governors' Cup and the 2024-25 Commissioner's Cup, and TNT won the title in all three conferences. The 2024-25 Commissioner's Cup was his last PBA conference. TNT then let him play for its sister team, Meralco, in the East Asia Super League, which is where the injury happened.

A roster filling back up

He is not the only TNT player back from injury. Calvin Oftana and Jayson Castro have both returned this conference.

The numbers around his return

Tuesday's game comes 311 days after the injury. In that time TNT have gone through three other imports this conference, and the team he rejoins is playing well without him: the two wins under Hornsby came by 24 and 18 points, 232-190 combined, an average margin of 21.

The standings leave less room. At 6-4, TNT are two games behind NLEX and one behind San Miguel Beer with two group games left, so even two wins would not guarantee a top-two finish. The first of those games is the easiest on paper.

The opponent

Macau are 2-8, tied with Titan Ultra at the bottom of Group A. They have lost four straight, including a 138-78 defeat to NLEX on October 7 and a 146-127 loss to Terrafirma on Saturday. They have played recent games with nine players.

TNT and Macau met once already this conference. TNT won 106-103 on July 19.

Macau's last two games show why. They gave up 138 and 146 points, an average of 142, and lost them by a combined 79 points. The one close result in their season against TNT, a three-point loss in July, came before the losing streak started.

The team has not said how many minutes Hollis-Jefferson will play on Tuesday.

What is next

TNT play Macau on Tuesday, October 13, at 5:15 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Meralco and Blackwater follow at 7:30 p.m. in a Group B game that matters for the quarterfinal race. After Tuesday, TNT have one group game left before the quarterfinals.

Update: San Miguel answered four days later, beating Terrafirma 135-105 behind 44 points from George King.

Update: Hollis-Jefferson scored 26 as TNT beat Magnolia 92-70 in Game 1 of the quarterfinals.