MANILA, Philippines – Can San Miguel finally clinch the title or will TNT live to fight another day?
After TNT cut San Miguel’s series lead to 3-2, the Tropang 5G and the Beermen face off once again in Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup finals at the PhilSports Arena on Friday, July 25.
Facing a do-or-die situation, TNT avoided elimination and kept its Grand Slam bid running after pulling off an 86-78 Game 5 win on Wednesday, July 23.
Heroes were aplenty for TNT as six of the nine players fielded in by head coach Chot Reyes finished in double-digit scoring, but it was big man Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser who stole the show for the Tropang 5G.
With their top center Poy Erram out for the rest of the series due to a meniscal tear in his left knee, Ganuelas-Rosser rose to the occasion with his team-highs of 18 points on 9-of-14 shooting, 3 steals, 5 blocks, along with 5 rebounds and 1 assist.
Kelly Williams and seldom-used guard Almond Vosotros also stepped up to the plate for the Tropang 5G by pouring in 14 and 11 points, respectively.
As TNT tries to extend the series even further to a winner-take-all Game 7, expect another total team effort from the Tropang 5G on offense, as well as in containing Best Player of the Conference June Mar Fajardo.
In Game 5, TNT held Fajardo to his series-low 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting after the eight-time league MVP averaged 22.7 points in the first four games.
Fajardo’s fellow Gilas Pilipinas stalwart CJ Perez was also nowhere to be found for the Beermen in Game 5, putting up just 5 points on a lowly 1-of-9 shooting.
Interestingly, Friday’s matchup against San Miguel will be TNT’s 75th game of the 49th season, tying the Alaska Aces’ record in 1995 for most games played in a single season.
Game time is 7:30 pm. – Rappler.com