TNT Tropang Giga’s Jordan Heading, Glenn Khobuntin, and Henry Galinato Jr. during 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 game wide open late in the third and while Elasto Painters had their chances, TNT’s bench mob made sure to keep them at bay to move within a win of another PBA Finals stint.
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“I thought the real key was the emergence of Kim (Aurin), Glenn (Khobuntin) and Poy (Erram) in the second half,” said coach Chot Reyes at Mall of Asia Arena.
“The three of them were terrible in the first half and we showed them the numbers. I thought that was the turning point.”
TNT may be up 3-1 but coach Chot Reyes finds it hard to celebrate 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 trying to mount a comeback following their third quarter meltdown.
The Tropang 5G were up comfortably in the fourth frame, 95-78, before Rain or Shine rallied with a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 12, 97-85, with 4:13 to go.
Khobuntin and Erram, however, 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 game.
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 during the first half of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals Game 3 against Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
However, despite moving to the cusp of reaching the Finals for the third straight time, Reyes could hardly celebrate the dub or his second unit’s heroics.
After all, it is hard to celebrate when many of your soldiers could be down for the next war. Kelly Williams went down in the first half due to a hurt ankle and oddly enough, Calvin Oftana faced the same fate in the fourth quarter.
“I’m only concerned if we 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 have, we’ll treat them as the next man up.”
Already missing Roger Pogoy for the second straight outing, the Tropang 5G may have even more absences for Game 5.
Williams never returned in the second half of the game while Oftana struggled to get his rhythm back after accidentally stepping on Gabe Norwood’s foot in the 10-minute mark of the payoff period.
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Over at the Rain or Shine camp, Norwood finished just 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 will be played at the mecca of Philippine basketball, Araneta Coliseum, this Friday.