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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Battle of precision for SMB, TNT in pivotal Game 5

Battle of precision for SMB, TNT in pivotal Game 5

Published Jan 29, 2026 02:24 pm

At A Glance

  • It's now a game of attrition as San Miguel and TNT figure in an anticipated dogfight for the crucial 3-2 lead in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup Finals at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Friday, Jan. 29.

With the title series now boiling down to a virtual best-of-three, it is just normal to expect that both teams will come out with a lot of urgency, according to TNT head coach Chot Reyes.

But what will spell the difference in the pivotal Game 5 clash is which team will come in with more precision.

It’s now a game of attrition as San Miguel and TNT figure in an anticipated dogfight for the crucial 3-2 lead in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup Finals at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Friday, Jan. 29.

Tip-off of the clash is at 7:30 p.m. with the Tropang 5G hoping to ride the momentum from their blowout win against the Beermen in Game 4 to tie the series at 2-2.

“I thought naman in all the games you came out with a lot of urgency, but not with a lot of precision,” said Reyes, citing the team’s two losses in the series where they shot poorly from the field and committed a lot of turnovers.

“Hindi naman sushoot lahat ng tira namin, pero huwag namin ibigay sa kalaban. Don't give them those opportunities because if you give a team like that those opportunities, pairapan ka talaga,” he added.

That precision on both ends of the floor was what TNT banked on in Game 4 as it led on all fronts against SMB.

Jordan Heading and Calvin Oftana led the charge with their outside sniping while, somehow, the bigs in Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, JP Erram and Kelly Williams made life a little harder for June Mar Fajardo on the low block.

“I thought today, just like every game, we came out with a lot of urgency, but we coupled that now with some precision and some accuracy,” he added.

Pointing those out as their win conditions, it’s now a must for the Tropang 5G to keep their hands hot especially with the looming counter attack from the very deep Beermen.

After struggling with foul trouble that limited him to just 11 points, CJ Perez is ripe for a big bounce back game. 

The Beermen shall also have a conscious effort of getting the games of Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross going in Game 5 following a scoreless outing last time out.

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