The cavalry—a.k.a Chris McCullough—has arrived for the TNT Tropang 5G, and the timing could not be better.
The Tropang 5G were in a desperate spot. Bol Bol was hurt. The defending PBA Commissioner’s Cup champions were in the middle of a semifinal grind against the Meralco Bolts with their import situation suddenly uncertain. Then, almost as if on cue, McCullough appeared right outside their front door.
Team manager Jojo Lastimosa did not wait long to act.
“He just finished his stint in Taiwan,” Lastimosa said, referring to McCullough’s latest run with the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards. “So perfect—he was about to leave for the States this Monday. Nag-usap kami and it was quick. And he’s OK with the situation.”
The connection came through an unlikely but fitting source: TNT resident import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who put McCullough’s name on the table when management began exploring replacements for Bol.
“He’s a good friend of Rondae,” Lastimosa said. “Rondae was the one who suggested to me that he’s available.”
Within hours, McCullough—the 31-year-old New York native—was on a flight. By Game 3 of the TNT-Meralco semifinal series, he was already at ringside inside the SM Mall of Asia Arena, watching his new team survive a heart-stopper. RR Pogoy buried a clutch triple in the dying seconds to lift the Tropang 5G to a 77-75 win and a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-seven.
Chris McCullough watched it all unfold from the stands. Soon, he will be on the floor—and that is where this story gets interesting.
Chris McCullough Is Six Wins From Something Special
TNT is six wins away from back-to-back Commissioner’s Cup titles. Six wins away from cementing one of the more dominant stretches of PBA import-conference basketball in recent memory. Six wins away from a championship that would mean something deeply personal for McCullough as well—because he has been here before, and the road back has been a long one.
Chris McCullough last won a PBA title in this exact conference back in 2019, powering the San Miguel Beermen to the Commissioner’s Cup crown—ironically against Terrence Jones and, of all teams, TNT. That was six years ago. In that run, he put up gaudy numbers, norming 32.4 points, 15.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.4 blocks on 47.2% shooting overall and and 33.6% from the foul line. He also went toe-to-toe and even got the better of Jones, himself of NBA pedigree like Bol and RHJ.
Since then, he has bounced across leagues and continents, keeping his game sharp while waiting for another shot at the biggest stage Philippine basketball has to offer. And he has made it abundantly clear—plenty of times, in fact—that he wants to come back to Asia’s first-ever pay-for-play league.
But San Miguel never did bring Chris McCullough back. No team did. Until TNT.
Now the stage has found him again—and this time, he is on the other side of that 2019 equation, suiting up for the very franchise he once helped defeat.
The symmetry is not lost.
Been There, Done That
Chris McCullough is a proven commodity in this league—athletic, versatile, capable of punishing smaller defenders in the post while also stepping out and creating off the dribble. He is exactly the kind of import who can absorb a playoff atmosphere without flinching, take over a game when the moments are largest, and give a coaching staff the flexibility to throw multiple looks at an opponent.
TNT already has the pieces. Pogoy is playing with the kind of clutch confidence that defines careers. Calvin Oftana is starting to find his range. Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser has the athletic ability and ferocity to be C-Mac’s frontcourt enforcer. Even Jordan Heading and Rey Nambatac showed up in Game 3 against Meralco. Jayson Castro could be due to return, too, anytime soon. And now McCullough steps in to give the Tropang 5G a dimension Bol’s injury had suddenly stripped away.
The defending champions are alive, in front, and now reinforced. For McCullough, the wait is over. The question now is whether he can turn a long-awaited return into the championship moment that has eluded him since 2019.
Six wins. That is all that stands between Chris McCullough and making the wait all worth it.
