MANILA – TNT launched its title-redemption bid with a hard-earned 106-103 win over Macau in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Sunday, July 19, 2026.
The Tropang 5G withstood the Giant Pandas’ uprising in the final three minutes despite missing five players, including injured starters Calvin Oftana, Poy Erram and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser.
Also absent were Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams, currently in the United States attending to a family matter.
“Obviously, you can’t be satisfied with an ending like that but at the same time, we knew we were going to struggle,” TNT coach Chot Reyes said.
“Number one, kulang kami sa (we lacked) players. We’ve got three starters who are not playing. And number two, this is our first tune-up game. Hindi kami nakapag (We weren’t able to play) tune up [in the off-season] because we opted to rest, recover. So this is the first time we played with our import, Darius Days, in an actual game,” he added.
Days had a decent debut despite a long layoff, notching 23 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Rey Nambatac helped fill the void with 23 points and six assists.
Roger Pogoy added 21 points, with his third and last triple giving the Tropa a 101-83 lead.
Nambatac’s three-point play made it 104-89 going into the last 3:19 of play, but Macau suddenly unleashed a 12-0 run to draw within 104-101, still 25.3 ticks left.
Free throws by Damien Chongqui even brought the Giant Pandas within 105-103 and they regained possession in the last 4.5 seconds off Nambatac’s charity split.
Xucheng Liu grabbed the defensive rebound, but heaved a very long shot that was wide and short.
De’Vondre Perry led all scorers with 36 points and 10 rebounds and Chongqui bounced back from an early ejection in a 124-149 loss to Converge on Friday with 24 points and eight dimes.
Kobey Lam and Ramon Cao each had 14 points, with the latter adding 12 boards, as Macau suffered its fourth loss in as many games.
Phoenix stays unbeaten
Robert Johnson continued to inspire, Ricci Rivero sustained his rise and Phoenix kept its hot, inbeaten start with an 81-78 win over the injury-hit Barangay Ginebra Kings in the main game of the twinbill.
Johnson piled up 23 points and 11 rebounds, Rivero collected 16 markers and nine boards while Kai Ballungay and Jason Perkins chipped in 12 and 10 notches, respectively, as the Fuel Masters got back at the team that eliminated them in the quarterfinals of the last Commissioner’s Cup.
The Fuel Masters nearly blew a 19-point spread, escaping only after Jonathan Gray missed a four-pointer at the buzzer.
Debuting Ginebra import Riley Grigsby had game-highs of 42 points and 13 rebounds, capping his game with buckets that brought Ginebra back into the fight late in the game.
However, Ginebra just really lacked the punch in the absence of Scottie Thompson and Justin Brownlee.
Not a single Ginebra local scored in double figures, with Gray finishing with only nine points on a woeful 3-of-14 field shooting. / PBA / PNA
