ANTIPOLO – San Miguel moved a win away from defending its PBA Philippine Cup kingship following a solid display of resolve to frustrate TNT, 96-82, in Game 5 of the best-of-seven Finals at the Ynares Center here, Friday night.
The Beermen initially fell to the Tropang 5G’s hot shooting from deep early and stared at a 23-7 deficit. But they slowly clawed their way back and made it just a one-point gap entering the halftime intermission, before turning the tables for good.
Coach Leo Austria’s charges erupted for 30 big points in the third canto while limiting the other team to only 13 for a 77-61 advantage. The game would never be in doubt as their rivals went cold on offense, never to recover.
(C) PBA Images
“Sabi lang namin, we have to stay patient,” said the champion mentor, lauding the poise his men showed despite the worrisome start they got into.
So stagnant was TNT’s offense that it failed to capitalize on the absence of June Mar Fajardo, who went down hurt late in the third. He had to stay on the bench for a while before being inserted back with 6:13 remaining in the game.
The league’s only nine-time MVP helped apply the final touches and would finish with 14 points and 11 rebounds. And he didn’t have to do any heavy lifting this time, as plenty of others stepped up in the crucial win.
Rodney Brondial was among those who filled in the void left by Fajardo, as he finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead the way.
That included a booming three-pointer from the right corner — and under pressure — with 4:21 left in the match. That pushed their lead to 90-76 and served as one of the hard punches that gradually took the fight out of the opposition.
Don Trollano had 14 points as well, alongside seven rebounds. Kris Rosales supplied 12 points as he proved to be the ‘magic bunot’ this time around.
Mo Tautuaa tallied an 11-6-7 stat line. Marcio Lassiter also had 11, while CJ Perez added 10, as a total of seven players scored in double figures in the impressive bounce-back from a blowout loss in Game 4 two nights ago.
“Gusto talaga namin manalo ngayon,” offered Brondial. “Mahirap kasi ma-down 3-2 dito sa series na ‘to. Tapos siguro, naging motivation din sa amin ‘yung sama ng pagkatalo namin last game. Gusto talaga namin bumawi.”
(C) PBA Images
Calvin Oftana had 20 points and nine rebounds to lead TNT, which played without Roger Pogoy due to the hamstring injury he reaggravated.
Jordan Heading had 13 points while Henry Galinato had 11 points. Rey Nambatac added 10 in yet another collapse for the Tropa.
Coach Chot Reyes’ men started out with guns ablaze, going 6-for-7 from three to zoom to the aforementioned 16-point lead with 5:01 left in the first. But consistency proved to be a problem as they couldn’t sustain the upper hand.
Game 6, the potential title clincher for San Miguel and a do-or-die for the Tropang 5G, is set this Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The Scores:
San Miguel 96 – Brondial 17, Fajardo 14, Trollano 14, Rosales 12, Lassiter 11, Tautuaa 11, Perez 10, Cruz 5, Ross 2, Cahilig 0.
TNT 82 – Oftana 20, Heading 13, Galinato 11, Nambatac 10, Williams 9, Erram 5, Rosser 3, Jalalon 3, Enciso 3, Khobuntin 3, Ferrer 2, Aurin 0, Hill 0.
Quarterscores: 19-29, 47-48, 77-61, 96-82.
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Leo Austria was proud of San Miguel’s all-around effort to take Game 5 of the #PBA50 Finals#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/Sws8BlFc8z
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— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) January 30, 2026
