TNT rebounded from the heartbreaking loss it suffered last time out with a brutal 110-87 beatdown of San Miguel, tying things up in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup Finals, Wednesday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
In a solid turnaround from their Game 3 collapse last Sunday, the Tropang 5G quickly took the lead. They opened with a 13-0 run to build a 17-6 lead before concluding the first 12 minutes with a commanding 35-18 advantage.
The pounding continued in the ensuing period, and the crew of Coach Chot Reyes would head into the break with a 65-40 advantage. That turned Game 4 into a snoozefest as the Beermen couldn’t come up with any solutions.
So lopsided was the match that TNT led by as many as 35 points, eventually reducing the series to a virtual best-of-three as both teams are now knotted at 2-2.
(C) PBA Images
“Well, we just looked at a bigger perspective,” offered Reyes when asked how he and the rest of the squad moved on from that crushing defeat.
“Sabi namin, yeah, we lost in the last one minute. But I just reminded the players that we got into the Finals in the same way: we won in the last 43 seconds,” he continued, referring to their miraculous comeback versus Meralco in the semis.
“We scored eight points in the last 43 seconds. Ganun talaga ang basketball eh, that’s how sports is. So I said, let’s put this behind us,” Reyes added.
CJ Oftana bannered the bounce-back with 29 points, thanks to a 5-of-8 clip from three-point distance, alongside six rebounds, four steals, and a block.
Jordan Heading came through with 17 points, highlighted by a heave from beyond halfcourt to beat the first-quarter buzzer. He also had six assists.
Rey Nambatac supplied 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists, with Kelly Williams and Simon Enciso chipping in eight markers apiece as a total of 12 players scored at least two points in the dominant victory.
The win, however, came at a cost after Roger Pogoy appeared to have reinjured his hamstring at the 10:40 mark of the second, never to return. He was actually feeling it from deep with a 2-for-2 clip until he got hurt again.
“So sad na nawala uli si RR,” lamented Oftana, “pero meron naman ibang tao para lumaro sa posisyon. And we’ll just stick to the plan. Next man up.”
(C) PBA Images
June Mar Fajardo had 18 points and 16 rebounds for San Miguel, which fell to its worst loss in the PBA Finals since absorbing a 130-100 beatdown at the hands of Ginebra back in Game 4 of the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup title bout.
The defeat, furthermore, spoiled the nine-time MVP’s coronation as the Philippine Cup Best Player of the Conference — his 13th plaque overall.
Trollano had 13 points, while Game 3 hero CJ Perez got held to just 11 points on a poor 4-of-15 shooting from the floor against four of their 21 turnovers.
Game 5 of the race-to-four battle is set this Friday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Scores:
TNT 110 – Oftana 29, Heading 17, Nambatac 13, Williams 8, Enciso 8, Rosser 7, Galinato 6, Khobuntin 6, Pogoy 6, Aurin 4, Erram 2, Jalalon 2, Ferrer 2, Nieto 0, Hill 0.
San Miguel 87 – Fajardo 18, Trollano 13, Perez 11, Tautuaa 9, Cruz 9, Cahilig 8, Rosales 4, Miller 4, Tiongson 3, Teng 3, Calma 3, Brondial 2, Ross 0, Mantua 0
Quarterscores: 35-18, 65-40, 87-61, 110-87.
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Chot Reyes lauds TNT’s effort on both ends to take Game 4 of fhe #PBA50 Finals#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/Xe74ZXTh5X
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— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) January 28, 2026
