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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider San Miguel wary of big TNT fightback

San Miguel wary of big TNT fightback

Published Jan 27, 2026 02:32 pm

At A Glance

  • San Miguel might have taken the lead in PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup Finals series but it remains on its toes as it expects TNT to do everything to bounce back in Game 4 at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 28.

San Miguel might have taken the lead in PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup Finals series but it remains on its toes as it expects TNT to do everything to bounce back in Game 4 at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 28.

Tip-off of the clash is at 7:30 p.m. with the Beermen looking to put the Tropang 5G on the ropes when they seek the commanding 3-1 lead.

But before that, the PBA is set to award the Best Player of the Conference Award with San Miguel star June Mar Fajardo leading the nominees alongside Titan’s Calvin Abueva, Converge’s Juan Gomez de Liano and Justine Baltazar and Magnolia’s Zavier Lucero.

SMB head coach Leo Austria stressed the need for his players to quickly move on from the thrilling 95-89 Game 3 win that saw CJ Perez save the day for the Beermen.

In a matter of 30 seconds, Perez went on a blistering 7-0 run to put the game away for SMB.

“First and foremost, they have to recover physically and mentally,” said Austria.

“Kailangan nila mag-refocus for the next game kasi alam natin ang TNT nung after nung naka-tie kami nakita natin yung bagsik nila, nakita natin yung adjustments. Mabuti na lang nakarespond kami sa game,” he added.

Austria, however, warned against complacency with TNT surely making the necessary adjustments to tie the series and avoid falling into the 3-1 hole.


Up on that to-do list for the Tropang 5G is to limit the supporting cast of SMB and get the much-needed boost from their own bench.

Don Trollano was once again a thorn to the side of the TNT, finishing with 19 points. Fajardo and Mo Tautuaa both continue to dominate the paint as well for San Miguel.

For the Tropang 5G, they need more than just the A-games from main gunners in Calvin Oftana and Jordan Heading as they also need the support from the rest of the crew like Rey Nambatac, Kelly Williams, JP Erram and Glenn Khobuntin.

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