TNT will not only get a chance to end its title drought but also end corporate rival San Miguel Corporation’s streak of dominance.
The Tropang Giga need just one victory over the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals in order to end SMC’s run of 11 consecutive PBA championships which started five years ago.
It will also make team owner Manny V. Pangilinan more than ecstatic if TNT gets the job done as no PBA club from his conglomerate has beaten an SMC team in 10 years.
Pangilinan last enjoyed a championship at the expense of SMC in the 2011 Commissioner’s Cup when TNT prevailed over Barangay Ginebra in six games.
But MVP-owned teams have fallen short against SMC nine times, with TNT losing to Petron/San Miguel in the 2011 Governors’ Cup, 2017 Commissioner’s Cup and 2019 Commissioner’s Cup, Magnolia when it carried B-Meg in the 2012 Commissioner’s Cup and San Mig Super Coffee in the 2014 Commissioner’s Cup and Ginebra in last year’s Philippine Cup bubble.
TNT’s sister team Meralco lost all three times to Ginebra in the 2016 Governors’ Cup, 2017 Governors’ Cup and 2019 Governors’ Cup.
SMC started the streak in the 2016 Governors’ Cup when Ginebra downed Meralco in six games on import Justin Brownlee’s famous buzzer-beating three that clinched the title.
San Miguel Beer won twice in the 2017 Philippine Cup against sister team Ginebra and the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup over TNT before Ginebra repeated over Meralco in that year’s Governors’ Cup.
The Beermen repeated as Philippine Cup champions in 2018 over the Hotshots, Ginebra prevented SMB from winning another title in the Commissioner’s Cup before Magnolia finally lifted a trophy with a six-game series triumph over Alaska in the Governors’ Cup.
In 2019, SMB beat Magnolia in seven games in the Philippine Cup before taking down TNT in the Commissioner’s Cup. Ginebra would end the season beating Meralco again in the Governors’ Cup.
Last season’s lone conference witnessed Ginebra prevailing over TNT, four games to one, in the Philippine Cup bubble in Angeles City, Pampanga.
SMC has also won 18 of the last 20 championships since the Magnolia’s 2013 Governors’ Cup triumph as San Mig. The only two squads to win during that run were TNT in the 2015 Commissioner’s Cup and Rain or Shine in the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup.