PBA: Philippine Cup semifinals recap for San Miguel, TNT

The San Miguel Beermen and TNT Tropang 5G will once again clash for the PBA Philippine Cup crown as the best-of-seven Finals tip off on Wednesday.

Last season, also capped by the All-Filipino conference, San Miguel crushed TNT’s Grand Slam hopes by securing the Philippine Cup title.

The Beermen are eyeing their league-record 12th Philippine Cup championship, while TNT hopes to claim its seventh title in the conference and its first since 2021.

Ahead of the Finals, here’s a look back at how both teams navigated the semifinals.

San Miguel def. Barangay Ginebra, 4-2

San Miguel wrapped up the elimination round with a 9-2 record, earning a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals, where it edged NLEX, 101-94.

In the semifinals, the Beermen needed six games to punch their Finals ticket against crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra.

Game results:

Game 1: San Miguel 90–99 Barangay Ginebra
Game 2: San Miguel 93–84 Barangay Ginebra
Game 3: San Miguel 91–85 Barangay Ginebra
Game 4: San Miguel 91–105 Barangay Ginebra
Game 5: San Miguel 115–109 Barangay Ginebra
Game 6: San Miguel 101–88 Barangay Ginebra

Notable semifinals performers (San Miguel):

CJ Perez: 21.83 ppg (including a career-high 41 in Game 6), 3.0 rpg, 2.83 apg
Don Trollano: 15.67 ppg (including a career-high 33 in Game 3), 5.67 rpg, 2.0 apg
June Mar Fajardo: 14.67 ppg, 19.0 rpg, 3.0 apg

TNT def. Meralco, 4-1

TNT finished third in the elimination round with an 8-3 record, earning a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals against Magnolia.

The Tropang 5G defeated the Hotshots, 118-109, before advancing to the semifinals against Meralco.

TNT closed out the series in five games to book a return trip to the Finals.

Game results:

Game 1: TNT 100–95 Meralco
Game 2: TNT 109–92 Meralco
Game 3: TNT 89–97 Meralco
Game 4: TNT 102–83 Meralco
Game 5: TNT 99–96 Meralco

Notable semifinals performers (TNT):

Calvin Oftana: 16.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.2 apg
Jordan Heading: 15.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.6 apg
RR Pogoy: 14.0 ppg, 2.25 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg

The best-of-seven series will begin this week with the Ynares Center in Antipolo and the Mall of Asia Arena serving as venues for the games.

—Justin Kenneth Carandang/JMB, GMA Integrated News