Masterful adjustments by TNT Tropang 5G proved to be just enough to claim a 102-94 Game 2 victory over Barangay Ginebra at Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday evening, tying things up at 1-1 in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner's Cup Finals.
Despite a furious fourth-quarter rally from the Gin Kings, here are the areas where the Tropang 5G found success and what Ginebra can look to replicate from its late-game surge heading into Game 3.
Oftana got his bearings through post-ups
For most of the playoffs, TNT has made it a point to generate quality offense through post mismatches, often using RR Pogoy to take advantage against smaller defenders. But in Game 2, the matchups presented a different opportunity, and Calvin Oftana delivered.
Part of TNT's offensive success came from repeatedly attacking RJ Abarrientos' screen navigation in Spain pick-and-roll actions initiated by Jordan Heading. With Ginebra forced to commit extra attention to contain those actions, the Tropang 5G were able to create favorable matchups elsewhere on the floor.
One of the biggest advantages came when Oftana found himself matched up against Scottie Thompson.
It was less about Thompson being unable to defend and more about TNT recognizing the size advantage, especially with Thompson still dealing with physical limitations. Oftana consistently established deep position and simply shot over the top whenever opportunities presented themselves.
Those post-up touches allowed Oftana to settle into a rhythm early.
As Ginebra adjusted and sent more help toward the block, the Gilas Pilipinas forward began finding opportunities from the perimeter, where his confidence carried over. Once he saw a few shots go down inside, he became increasingly aggressive hunting catch-and-shoot looks within TNT's offensive flow.
The result was a dominant all-around outing.
Oftana finished with a team-high 31 points and 10 rebounds while posting an elite 78.4 TS%. He also knocked down five of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc, with many of those looks coming after his post scoring forced Ginebra's defense to collapse and react.
TNT's switching defense disrupted Ginebra's normal flow
For the second straight game, TNT assigned Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser to a Ginebra guard.
While the impact wasn't as noticeable in Game 1 because Thompson was able to stay productive through off-ball movement and secondary actions, the same approach proved far more effective against RJ Abarrientos in Game 2.
With much of Ginebra's half-court offense revolving around two-man actions between Justin Brownlee and Abarrientos, Ganuelas-Rosser's versatility became a major factor. His ability to switch onto Brownlee without giving up a driving lane allowed TNT to flatten out many of Ginebra's preferred actions.
At the same time, Abarrientos struggled to consistently turn the corner against the longer and more athletic defender, making it difficult for Ginebra to generate the paint touches and defensive rotations that usually fuel their offense.
As a result, the Gin Kings increasingly leaned on Brownlee to create in isolation. While the naturalized import was still productive, TNT largely succeeded in forcing him to manufacture offense on his own rather than allowing Ginebra to attack through its usual ball movement and read-and-react principles.
The Tropang 5G were comfortable with Brownlee taking difficult one-on-one shots as long as they could limit the involvement of the other playmakers around him.
This scheme has held the Gin Kings to just three assists in the first half and forcing them into a far more stagnant brand of basketball than they prefer.
Ginebra's bench became the low-hanging fruit
Trailing 59-78 entering the fourth quarter, Ginebra was searching for anything that could spark a comeback.
Head coach Tim Cone eventually turned to his second and third units, hoping to find some energy and life on both ends of the floor. What initially looked like a white flag lineup quickly became one of the few bright spots of the night.
Despite TNT receiving timely daggers from Oftana and Rey Nambatac whenever momentum appeared to shift, Ginebra's reserves consistently answered.
Isaac Go took advantage of favorable matchups and made the right reads offensively, finishing with ten points. Jeremiah Gray brought his trademark activity and competitiveness, drilling crucial transition pull-up jumpers en route to 11 points. Even seldom-used John Abis made a significant impact despite scoring just four points, posting a team-best plus-13 as the Gin Kings chipped away at the deficit.
The reality for Ginebra is that its bench has become one of the more reliable low-hanging fruits available in this series. Players like Go, Gray, Abis, and Ralph Cu provided energy, shot-making, and defensive activity when their numbers were called.
While much of the attention naturally falls on Brownlee, Thompson, and Abarrientos, the contributions of the second unit could become a genuine swing factor if they continue to outperform expectations.
Another thing Ginebra must confront, however, is the lack of production from Stephen Holt. Through the first two Finals games, the veteran guard has yet to make a field goal and is averaging just 0.5 points per game.
More concerning than the numbers is his hesitancy to look for his own offense, attempting only 2.5 shots per contest. If the bench continues to be the easiest source of positive minutes, it may force Cone to take a longer look at how he allocates those wing minutes moving forward.