It’s back to square one as both TNT and Ginebra found themselves on equal footing, except that the best-of-seven PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Finals is now reduced to a virtual best-of-three affair.

But the war of attrition is expected to reach its climax anytime soon as the squads are raring to bring out everything they got in the all-important Game 5 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, June 12.

Tip-off of the clash is at 7:30 p.m. with an even bigger crowd expected to come in droves especially with the country’s Independence Day celebration.

For TNT head coach Chot Reyes, the series is becoming a challenge to keep his team’s composure amid the onslaught from Ginebra. And its 106-98 win over Ginebra was no different.

"We told the players to just keep our composure despite the barrage of the two best players of this conference,” said Reyes talking about Ginebra’s one-two punch of RJ Abarrientos and Justin Brownlee who both bagged the top individual honors in the conference.

“I mean, we're playing the best import and the best local player. So we know that they will really score because they're not the best for nothing. So, I said let's just keep our composure, stick to our game plan and luckily the players responded,” he added.

It was a tight ball game up until the last few minutes of the third when TNT went on a 20-4 rally that gave them enough cushion to weather another late storm from Ginebra.

But for Ginebra head coach Tim Cone, the Kings cannot afford to have the same lackluster effort if they wish to regain control of the series.

Cone also stressed that it needs to be a team effort and the Kings cannot rely solely on Brownlee to bail them out.

“We can't rely on Justin that much. He's carrying too heavy of a load.”

“And with our offense, the way we play, the ball should be moving better. We should be getting better shots than we are. We're just too Justin-reliant right now,” he added.