AFTER missing out on a Triple Crown bid last season following a setback in the season-ending All-Filipino tourney, the TNT Tropang 5G never stopped working.
The Tropa continued their relentless pursuit of redemption on Saturday night, Dec. 27, 2025, defeating the Magnolia Hotshots 118-109 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The victory secured TNT’s spot in the PBA Philippine Cup Final Four, keeping their hopes alive for a fourth consecutive finals appearance.
Calvin Oftana sizzled with five triples and a game-high 25 points, while Jordan Heading added 21 markers spiked by a four-point bomb, as TNT marched into the semifinals versus the winner in the Rain or Shine-Meralco rubber on Monday, Dec. 29.
The Tropa followed defending title-holder San Miguel Beer, which earlier secured a semifinals berth with a 101-94 conquest of NLEX on Christmas Day.
“Like I said the last time out, we came out thinking we need to win two games to get to the Final Four. I am happy to deliver the second part of the transaction tonight. We took care of the first part (on Dec. 21), and now we took care of the second part,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes.
The first part also came at the expense of Magnolia via a 94-83 win by the Tropang 5G.
In the rematch, Oftana and his teammates came out firing, led by as many as 27 and completed a wire-to-wire win. Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and RR Pogoy also scored in double figures as TNT turned in a complete team effort.
Kim Aurin, Kelly Williams, Jio Jalalon, Rey Nambatac and Henry Galinato fired at least seven points each in a balanced TNT scoring.
The Tropang 5G played tough down the stretch to thwart Magnolia, which was led by Zav Lucero, Rome dela Rosa and Jerom Lastimosa with 22, 19 and 18 points, respectively.
LA Tenorio, serving his second game as playing coach, finished with three points and three rebounds.
Meralco 96, RoS 79
In the curtain-raiser, Meralco got off to a hot start, building a big cushion that proved enough to fend off Rain or Shine, 96-79, and set up a decider.
Cliff Hodge and Chris Newsome set the tone early as the Bolts surged to a 56-22 lead before the Elasto Painters waged a furious rally to cut the deficit to 12.
Despite his team getting relatively outplayed in the second half, Meralco coach Luigi Trillo was understandably pleased with the way his seventh-ranked team managed to neutralize the No. 2 seed’s win-once advantage and forced a deciding match on Monday.
“We started out well. I think in the first quarter we were up by a big lead,” said Trillo, referring to his Bolts’ charge to a 35-15 lead before settling for a 58-31 halftime bulge.
“We didn’t think that would happen but, you know, Rain or Shine is a tough team. You look at them in the third quarter they won that quarter. It’s not gonna be easy for us.” / PBA.PH