The 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup semis continued on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium with the San Miguel Beermen and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters looking to get on the board opposite Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and TNT Tropang 5G, respectively. Here’s what happened:
San Miguel Blows Out Ginebra, Levels Series at 1-1
There was to be no comeback this time. The San Miguel Beermen made sure of that, demolishing Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 100-83, in a game they had complete control of from the get-go.
Marcio Lassiter got the Beermen off to a rousing start, scoring 8 of his team-high 16 points in the first six minutes to stake San Miguel to a 26-15 lead. The cavalry soon followed Lassiter’s lead, stepping up as eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo played limited minutes due to a calf injury.
Don Trollano, Kris Rosales, Jericho Cruz, and Andreas Cahilig all answered the San Miguel call of duty, coming off the bench to combine for 47 of the Beermen’s 49 bench points. Trollano and Rosales were particularly impressive, firing 14 and 13, respectively, while Cruz dropped 11 and Cahilig added 9. Mo Tautuaa, usually part of San Miguel’s bench crew, had a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards as he started in place of Fajardo.
Stephen Holt had 17 for Ginebra, who couldn’t duplicate their 18-point comeback in Game 1 as San Miguel quickly thwarted every rally. Jeremiah Gray and Nards Pinto added 10 each, mostly when the outcome was all but decided in the fourth.
The scores:
San Miguel (100) – Lassiter 16, Trollano 14, Rosales 13, Perez 11, Cruz 11, Tautuaa 10, Cahilig 9, Tiongson 8, Brondial 4, Fajardo 2, Calma 2, Teng 0
Ginebra (83) – Holt 17, Gray 10, Pinto 10, Thompson 9, Ahanmisi 9, Abarrientos 7, Rosario 6, J. Aguilar 5, Malonzo 5, David 5, Cu 0, Adamos 0, R. Aguilar 0, Tenorio 0
TNT Survives Rain or Shine as Calvin Oftana Takes Over
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters were on the verge of tying the series at 1-1. Then, Calvin Oftana decided to do something about it and powered the TNT Tropang 5G to a 113-105 victory in OT for a 2-0 advantage.
With RR Pogoy sidelined in the second half due to a tight hamstring, Oftana simply took over for TNT, firing 39 big points on top of 9 rebounds, 1 steal, and 3 blocks. He also scored the Tropa’s last five points in OT—a stepback midrange jumper to bring TNT to within 97-96 and three pressure-packed freebies to tie the count at 99 and send the game to OT.
While Oftana starred, there were plenty of other heroes, too, for TNT, including Jordan Heading, who had 13 points, 6 boards, and 11 assists. Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and Kelly Williams also came up big, with BGR finishing with 8 points and 10 rebounds and Williams putting up 9 points and 12 boards. He also hit a booming trey that gave TNT a 107-101 lead with three minutes left in OT.
Adrian Nocum led the charge for Rain or Shine with 27 markers but had three of the Elasto Painters’ 14 missed free throws. Caelan Tiongson fired 18 points, including three triples that powered Rain or Shine’s comeback in the fourth from 12 points down. Gian Mamuyac and Jhonard Clarito poured in 16 each, but the former fouled Oftana taking a triple with just seven seconds left. He also missed what would’ve been the game-winning buzzer beater in regulation.
The scores:
TNT (113) – Oftana 39, Heading 13, Pogoy 11, Williams 9, Ganuelas-Rosser 8, Nieto 7, Aurin 7, Vosotros 6, Erram 6, Khobuntin 4, Enciso 3
Rain or Shine (105) – Nocum 27, Tiongson 18, Mamuyac 16, Clarito 16, Santillan 7, Caracut 6, Norwood 6, Asistio 3, Ildefonso 2, Datu 2, Malonzo 2
2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup Semis Continue
The 2024–25 PBA Philippine Cup semis will continue on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum for Game 3. TNT will go for the jugular in the first game, followed by San Miguel and Ginebra renewing hostilities in the main game.
