TNT Tropang Giga’s Jordan Heading, Glenn Khobuntin, and Henry Galinato Jr. throughout the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals Game 3 against Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—TNT clamped down on Rain or Shine and ran away with a 109-92 victory for a pivotal 3-1 lead in PBA Philippine Cup semifinals on Wednesday.
The Tropang 5G blew the sport wide open late within the third and while Elasto Painters had their possibilities, TNT’s bench mob made sure to maintain them at bay to maneuver inside a win of one other PBA Finals stint.
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“I believed the actual key was the emergence of Kim (Aurin), Glenn (Khobuntin) and Poy (Erram) within the second half,” said coach Chot Reyes at Mall of Asia Arena.
“The three of them were terrible in the primary half and we showed them the numbers. I believed that was the turning point.”
TNT could also be up 3-1 but coach Chot Reyes finds it hard to rejoice with Kelly Williams’ ankle injury. @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/z0AynikQsr
— Rommel Fuertes Jr. (@MeloFuertesINQ) July 2, 2025
The troika of Aurin, Khobuntin and Erram delivered for TNT when the Elasto Painters were attempting to mount a comeback following their third quarter meltdown.
The Tropang 5G were up comfortably within the fourth frame, 95-78, before Rain or Shine rallied with a 7-2 run to chop the result in 12, 97-85, with 4:13 to go.
Khobuntin and Erram, nevertheless, went right to the rescue for TNT, sinking a triple and an inside hook, respectively, to shut the door on the Elasto Painters, 102-85, with 3:19 left in the sport.
Khobuntin, the fabled hero of TNT in last conference’s Game 7 of the Finals, had 16 points and five rebounds. Erram snagged eight points and five rebounds while Aurin was impactful with seven points, five rebounds and three assists.
‘Falling like flies’
TNT Tropang 5G’s Kelly Williams holds on to his ankle throughout the first half of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals Game 3 against Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Nonetheless, despite moving to the cusp of reaching the Finals for the third straight time, Reyes could hardly rejoice the dub or his second unit’s heroics.
In spite of everything, it is tough to rejoice when lots of your soldiers could possibly be down for the subsequent war. Kelly Williams went down in the primary half as a consequence of a hurt ankle and oddly enough, Calvin Oftana faced the identical fate within the fourth quarter.
“I’m only concerned if we now have enough men because we’re falling like flies. We lost Kelly (Williams) today and Calvin (Oftana) as well but that’s what it’s been since day one.
“Whoever we now have, we’ll treat them as the subsequent man up.”
Already missing Roger Pogoy for the second straight outing, the Tropang 5G could have much more absences for Game 5.
Williams never returned within the second half of the sport while Oftana struggled to get his rhythm back after by chance stepping on Gabe Norwood’s foot within the 10-minute mark of the payoff period.
Over on the Rain or Shine camp, Norwood finished only a rebound shy of a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds while Andrei Caracut scored 16 but to no avail.
Game 5 of the semis series can be played on the mecca of Philippine basketball, Araneta Coliseum, this Friday.