In a PBA Finals often framed by San Miguel's depth, TNT found balance the other way, leaning on its starters to produce a convincing 110-87 victory and tie the Philippine Cup  best-of-seven championship series at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 28.

The Beermen's supporting cast showed up as advertised and outscored the Tropa’s second unit, 49-36. But the advantage proved futile as the starting five of the MVP franchise took the matter into their own hands and annihilated their counterparts, 74-38.

Calvin Oftana led all players with a conference-high 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting, including five three-pointers, six rebounds, and four steals, on a night where TNT shot a 50 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Jordan Heading added 17 points, 11 of which came in the first quarter to spark TNT’s strong offensive start, while Rey Nambatac tallied 13 points and five rebounds. Kelly Williams and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser contributed eight and seven points, respectively.

TNT head coach Chot Reyes praised his team’s response after a heartbreaking 89-95 Game 3 loss, stressing that beating SMB requires playing good basketball for all 48 minutes.

“That’s the way to beat a team like this, to play good basketball for 48 minutes. Last game, we played well for 36 minutes, but we lost in the end. I thought we played great defense, but CJ [Perez] made a couple of super plays, and there’s nothing you can do but tip your hat,” said the 61-year-old coach.

“Today, fortunately, we were able to deliver for 48 minutes,” he added.

Meanwhile, San Miguel’s main cast struggled to keep up with TNT’s firepower, finding themselves in an 18-35 hole at the end of the first quarter.

Newly-minted Best Player of the Conference for a record 13th time, June Mar Fajardo was limited to just three points in the first half but picked up the slack in the second, finishing with 18 points and 16 rebounds.

Game 3 hero CJ Perez managed only three points in the final 24 minutes, ending with 11 points total. The only other starter to score for SMB was Mo Tautuaa, who chipped in nine markers.

Don Trollano once again proved to be a reliable bench scorer for the Beermen, adding 13 points on 71-percent shooting.

Complimenting him were Jericho Cruz and Philip Cahilig, who combined for 17 points, while Kris Rosales and Chris Miller contributed four points apiece.

Marcio Lassiter, who racked up 10 points in Game 3, went scoreless for SMB.

With the finals reduced to a virtual best-of-three, both teams will be scrambling to take the lead in Game 5 on Friday, Jan. 30, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.