Noah Barro

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel dragged their sister team, the San Miguel Beermen into a winner-take-all situation, while TnT Tropang 5G inched closer to their Grand Slam hopes after routing the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the Game 6 of the Philippine Basketball Association’s Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, July 6.

Photos Courtesy of Inquirer Sports/PBA Images.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Gin Kings trailed by a narrow three-point margin, 67-70, the 40-year-old veteran from Ginebra woke up just in time as he poured all of his 11 points in the final quarter alone, constructed on a perfect 3/3 shooting beyond the arc-along a trey to edge the Beermen, 87-88.

On the other hand, Tropang 5G get a shot from the ever-elusive PBA Grand Slam title as they relied on veteran Gilas sharpshooter, Jordan Heading to head their offense, earning the Player of the Game honors with 29 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals.

“Never Say Die” spirit prevails

Early in the second quarter, Ginebra faced a huge 16 point deficit, 22-38, which was trimmed as they leaned on 2021-2022 season MVP, Scottie Thompson contributed 10 early markers in the first half, enough to cut down the lead to nine, 45-54.

Troy Rosario's grit translated into a timely putback which ignited the Barangay’s 7-0 run late in the third quarter as they drew closer coming into the fourth, 67-70.

Just as Ginebra seemed hapless with eight minutes to-go in the fourth, 71-78, Coach Tim Cone put his team’s faith in ever reliable Tenorio as he quickly extinguished the Beermen’s run with a silencing three pointer.

From then, the Barangay was back on track until Thompson issued a kick-out pass to Tenorio as he calmly swished from downtown with only 3.1 second left, as he brought into reality Ginebra’s Game 7 hopes, 88-87.

TNT pulls away despite shorthanded lineup

Despite missing key players—Jayson Castro, RR Pogoy, Rey Nambatac, and Kelly Williams due to injuries—TNT managed to complete a 4–2 series win over the Elasto Painters, 97-89.

Calvin Oftana sparkplugged TnT’s late offensive breakthrough after a clutch and-one play for a 83-82 edge, as the Elasto Painters seemed to collapse late in the fourth frame after giving up a quick 14-2 run, as the Tropang 5G creep closer to a Grand Slam glory.

"By just keeping our eyes on the prize, we said even with that bad start [in the conference], all we wanted was to get a chance," TNT head coach Chot Reyes said. "Number two, we just came together."

With the win, Tropang 5G now await the result of the Game 7 showdown between familiar rivals Barangay Ginebra and the San Miguel Beermen on July 9 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.