Domination was the theme on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena as the San Miguel Beermen and TNT Tropang 5G recorded masterful blowouts in the respective series in the semis of the 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup. Here is a recap of the action:
San Miguel Dominates Ginebra, Evens Series at 2-2
One explosion. That’s what it took for the San Miguel Beermen to get Game 4 under control.
Down 51-50 after 24 minutes, the Beermen turned things up a notch in the third, outscoring Ginebra 30-12 behind the marvelous play of June Mar Fajardo, CJay Perez, and Rodney Brondial. It was all San Miguel needed to cruise to a 107-82 rout of the crowd darlings and level their semis series at two games.
Perez finished with a game-high 19 points on top of 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block, while Fajardo put up 12 points and 19 rebounds—including 6 in the offensive glass. Brondial added 12 and Juami Tiongson scattered 14 more. The Beermen also got solid contributions off the bench from Jericho Cruz, Don Trollano, and Jeron Teng, who fired 12, 11, and 9, respectively, to account for San Miguel’s 44 bench points.
Troy Rosario paced Ginebra with 14 points and 7 boards followed by Jamie Malonzo’s 12 points. Scottie Thompson chipped in 11 markers but surprisingly had 0 rebounds. RJ Abarrientos, the hero of Game 3 for the Gins, was contained this time as he finished with just 9 points and 2 assists.
The scores:
San Miguel (107) – Perez 19, Tiongson 14, Fajardo 12, Brondial 12, Cruz 12, Trollano 11, Teng 9, Lassiter 6, Ross 5, Rosales 3, Tautuaa 2, Calma 2, Cahilig 0
Ginebra 82 – Rosario 14, Malonzo 12, Thompson 11, J.Aguilar 10, Abarrientos 9, Ahanmisi 7, Holt 5, Pinto 4, Tenorio 4, R.Aguilar 4, Gray 2, Cu 0, David 0
TNT Routs Rain or Shine, Moves a Win Away from Finals
Like San Miguel, the TNT Tropang 5G needed just one big quarter to seize control of Game 4—and of the series.
Down 47-41 after one half, TNT put on an offensive and defensive show in the third, firing 39 big points and holding down the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to just 22 to build an 80-69 lead going to the final frame. The Tropa only poured it on, cruising to a 18-92 triumph and a 3-1 series lead.
Jordan Heading led the way for TNT with a game-high 23 points on hyper-efficient 8-for-12 clip on top of 5 rebounds and 6 assists in his best game for the Tropa. Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, adjudged Best Player of the Game, added 22 points and 11 rebounds in what was likewise his best outing for TNT. Calvin Oftana and Glen Khobuntin chipped in 16 apiece as well.
Gabe Norwood topscored for Rain or Shine with 18, but 15 came in the first half. Andrei Caracut and Adrian Nocum put up 16 and 12, respectively, but combined to shoot 8-for-33 from the field as Rain or Shine shot just 32% from the floor. Caelan Tiongson added 15 off the bench.
The scores:
TNT (108) –Heading 23, Ganuelas-Rosser 22, Oftana 16, Khobuntin 16, Galinato 8, Erram 8, Aurin 7, Vosotros 6, Heruela 2, Nieto 0, Enciso 0, Williams 0
Rain or Shine (92) – Norwood 18, Caracut 16, Tiongson 15, Nocum 12, Santillan 9, Datu 7, Mamuyac 7, Clarito 4, Malonzo 2, Asistio 2
2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup Semis Continue
Game 5 of the 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup semis will take place on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. TNT will look to book a seat in the Finals in the first game, while Ginebra and San Miguel will try to get a leg up in the second game.
