(PBA image)
Even with their feared perimeter gunners struggling to find the mark, TNT Tropang 5G managed to escape with a hard-earned victory in Game 1 of their PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal series against the Meralco Bolts on Sunday.
That reality alone raises a looming question for the Bolts. What happens if Calvin Oftana, RR Pogoy, Jordan Heading, and Rey Nambatac eventually settle into rhythm and start knocking down shots?
For Meralco head coach Luigi Trillo, the answer goes beyond defensive schemes. Matching TNT’s effort, physicality, and intensity across the entire game, he said, is just as critical.
The Bolts showed they were capable of doing exactly that in the first half of the series opener, racing to a commanding 21-point lead. But that edge slowly eroded, and Meralco eventually absorbed a frustrating 100–95 defeat that left little room for excuses.
Now, TNT looks to press its advantage while Meralco regroups ahead of Game 2, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The opening win was anything but smooth for the Tropang 5G. Known for their long-range firepower, TNT misfired badly, hitting just 4 of 26 attempts from beyond the arc. Instead of forcing shots, however, the Tropa adjusted, relentlessly attacking the basket and earning a massive 47 free-throw attempts—nearly four times Meralco’s 12.
That swing was not lost on the Bolts, who are now openly embracing the urgency of a bounce-back performance.
“It’s far from over. There’s still a lot of basketball to be played. But we need to be better,” Trillo said, still lamenting how his team let a huge advantage slip away. “That kind of ending shouldn’t happen when you’re up by 20. That should be a step-on-the-throat, done game. And we didn’t do that. We allowed them to come back.”
Trillo stressed that beating TNT requires sustained pressure and humility. “Maybe we have to be a heavy-duty team. We need to keep our foot on the gas. Against this team, you cannot relax,” he added.
On the other side, TNT is not celebrating just yet. The Tropang 5G are fully aware they escaped rather than dominated—and that Meralco’s early-game execution was no fluke.
“We saw their energy, their execution, even their three-point shooting in the first half. They were really primed for it,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes. “We got a first-hand taste of that. So hopefully in Game 2, we’re more ready from the start, because I don’t think we can play like this again and expect the same result.”
With TNT searching for shooting rhythm and Meralco determined to finish what it starts, Game 2 shapes up as a defining early swing in a series that is far from settled.