Barangay Ginebra and TNT are two semifinal wins away from advancing to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Last Dance but while the light at the end of the tunnel is glimmering, it’s far from safe passage for both teams. If Ginebra and TNT carve a third notch on their rifle stock at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today, they’ll be a step closer to reaching the Finals. On the other hand, it’s a virtual do-or-die for Rain or Shine and Meralco. If the Elasto Painters lose to Ginebra and the Bolts bow to the Tropang 5G, they’ll be one foot in the grave clutching at straws to survive a 1-3 series deficit.
Meralco had a golden chance to take Game 3 at the MOA Arena last Sunday as TNT showed up without an import. Bol Manute Bol went down with an Achilles tear in Game 2 last Friday and TNT couldn’t get the paperwork done for replacement Malick Diouf over the weekend. The PBA gave TNT an hour before tip-off to submit Diouf’s Special Work Permit from the Bureau of Immigration and Letter of Clearance from FIBA but time wouldn’t oblige.
Despite the handicap, TNT essayed a monumental 77-75 win over Meralco behind a 22-16 fourth quarter kick that featured a 2-2-1 press sliding into a 2-3 zone to delay the Bolts’ execution and negate Marvin Jones’ interior presence. In that fourth period blitz, Meralco shot a lowly 29.4 percent from the floor and TNT had more fastbreak points, 7-2, bench points, 9-5 and paint points, 10-6. TNT team manager Jojo Lastimosa, in charge of finding a sub for Bol, heaved a sigh of relief at the final buzzer, exclaiming “we needed that game.”
Meralco coach Luigi Trillo declared the series is far from over. “Tough loss as we had them on the ropes twice, 11-point lead with six minutes left and six-point lead with three to go,” he said. “We have to manage that 2-2-1 to 2-3 zone better. They had both bigs with five fouls apiece in the fourth quarter, that’s why they went zone but nine of 10 times, we win a game like that. We won the rebounding battle, had more assists and improved our turnovers from 10 in the first half to only five in the second. I expect us to clean up our mistakes and give a good fight back. We know this won’t be easy but we can play much better.”
Assuming documents are cleared, TNT will suit up Chris McCullough for Game 4. The 6-9, three-year NBA vet led San Miguel Beer to the Commissioner’s Cup crown in 2019 and is coming off a stint with Taiwan Beer which he led to the TPBL semis. McCullough, 31, was on the SGA squad that won the Jones Cup title in 2024. Meralco will also unveil a new import, 7-foot Patrick Gardner who replaces Marvin Jones. Gardner, 26, is fresh from playing in the B-League and saw action for Egypt at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
In the other series, Ginebra is on a roll with two wins in a row after losing the opener to ROS. The longer the series, the better are coach Yeng Guiao’s chances to recover. But Ginebra’s experience is a huge factor and coach Tim Cone isn’t about to yield that advantage.