The 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup continued on Friday with a double-header at the PhilSports Arena. Here’s a recap of the action:
TNT Blasts Terrafirma in Wire-to-Wire Domination
Calvin Oftana and Poy Erram played huge games as the TNT Tropang 5G recorded a wire-to-wire 110-74 demolition of the free-falling Terrafirma Dyip, who have now lost five straight in the 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup. In contrast, TNT scored a second straight win to follow its escape act against the San Miguel Beermen.
Oftana fired a game-high 22 points in just three quarters, while Erram scattered 19, also in the game’s first 36 minutes. Rey Nambatac added 12, Kim Aurin chipped in 11, and RR Pogoy put up 10 as TNT relied on a complete team effort. Glenn Khobuntin and Calvin Payawal registered 9 apiece, with the latter draining three straight triples at one point in the fourth to highlight the Tropa’s big game.
Louie Sangalang and Mark Nonoy topscored for Terrafirma with 16 apiece, while Stanley Pringle and Aldrech Ramos had 12 and 10, respectively.
The scores:
TNT (110) – Oftana 22, Erram 19, Nambatac 12, Aurin 11, Pogoy 10, Payawal 9, Khobuntin 9, Williams 7, Varilla 5, Heruela 3, Ebona 3, Razon 0, Enciso 0
Terrafirma (74) – Sangalang 16, Nonoy 16, Pringle 12, Ramos 10, Catapusan 9, Ferrer 7, Hanapi 3, Hernandez 1, Zaldivar 0, Olivario 0, Melecio 0, Paraiso 0
Up Next:
TNT vs. Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on May 14 (Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
Terrafirma vs. San Miguel Beermen on May 18 (Ynares Center – Montalban)
Meralco Escapes NorthPort with Searing Rally
The Meralco Bolts rallied back from 15 points down and watched the NorthPort Batang Pier miss five crucial freebies to eke out a 105-104 win and get their 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup campaign back on track.
Bong Quinto punctuated his 17-point effort with a barreling drive with under 10 seconds remaining that gave the Bolts the lead for good. Chris Newsome typified Meralco’s resolve and resilience with 24 big markers, followed by 23 from Chris Banchero and 18 from Cliff Hodge. Aaron Black added 14 as the Bolts’ big guns came through to push the Bolts to 3-3.
Joshua Munzon dropped a conference-high 36 points as he carried the load for the Batang Pier, who were again playing minus Arvin Tolentino due to contractual issues. William Navarro added 14 but muffed what would have been the game-winning jumper. Jio Jalalon chipped in 11 but missed two big free throws with under a minute left as NorthPort dropped its fourth straight game to fall to 1-4 in the 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup .
The scores:
Meralco (105) – Newsome 24, Banchero 23, Hodge 18, Quinto 17, Black 14, Cansino 3, Bates 2, Jose 2, Rios 2, Almazan 0, Pasaol 0, Caram 0, Torres 0
NorthPort (104) – Munzon 36, Navarro 14, Jalalon 11, Kwekuteye 10, Flores 10, Nelle 7, Onwubere 7, Cuntapay 6, Bulanadi 3, Nava 0, Taha 0
Up Next:
Meralco vs. NLEX Road Warriors on May 16 (PhilSports Arena)
NorthPort vs. TNT on May 16 (PhilSports Arena)
2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup Continues at Pampanga
The 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup continues on later today with an out-of-town matchup between the Converge FiberXers and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. Converge is in the midst of a three-game winning run, while Ginebra is coming off a painful loss to NLEX.
