LIVE: PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals Game 5

• TNT Tropang 5G try to close out Meralco Bolts while San Miguel Beermen and Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings break a deadlock in Game 5s of their respective PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series on Friday, January 14.

SCHEDULE: PBA Philippine Cup semifinals Game 5

January 14, Wednesday – Smart Araneta Coliseum 

• 5:15 p.m. – Meralco Bolts vs TNT Tropang 5G
• 7:30 p.m. – Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings vs San Miguel Beermen

PBA: San Miguel takes 3-2 semis lead as Ginebra rally falls short

MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel Beer overcame a late-game rally from Barangay Ginebra to win Game 5, 115-109, of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

After leading by as much as 17 points, the Beermen allowed the Gin Kings to make the game interesting down the stretch before slipping away with the pivotal 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

“Tonight, we were able to limit their production and our bench, I think, surprised them,” coach Leo Austria said. “We’re one win away from the Finals but we know it’s no easy task for us.”

San Miguel’s Chris Ross and coach Leo Austria after the win vs. Ginebra in Game 5. #PBA50 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/My8qfoTOVq

— Rommel Fuertes Jr. (@MeloFuertesINQ) January 14, 2026

LIVE UPDATES: Ginebra vs San Miguel – PBA Philippine Cup Semifinals Game 5

• FINAL: San Miguel takes a 3-2 lead over Barangay Ginebra in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals after a 115-109 win in Game 5.
• June Mar Fajardo fouled, he makes both freethrows. 8.3 seconds left. San Miguel leads 113-109.
• CJ Perez fouled, but he misses both freethrows. But San Miguel gets back the posession.
• RJ Abarrientos for 3! Ginebra is within two points, 111-109. 13.4 seconds left.
• San Miguel holding on to a five-point lead with 25.9 seconds left. Ginebra possession after a TO from Chris Ross.
• Ginebra down by just 5 after that Scottie Thompson basket, 111-106.
• Big 3 from Raymond Aguilar! Ginebra down 111-102.
• RJ Abarrientos fallaway jumper! Ginebra within single digits, 107-98, over 4 minutes left.
• Stephen Holt for 3! Ginebra trying to stay alive, but trails 107-93.
• Marcio Lassiter with a 3! San Miguel’s lead has ballooned to 107-90. 6:27 to go.
• Ginebra with a steal and Jayson David converts. Ginebra trying to get back in the game, down 101-88.
• Lassiter finds an opening and makes the layin. San Miguel pushes its lead to 101-84.
• June Mar Fajardo back to back baskets. 99-84 for the Beermen. 8:51 left.
• Japeth Aguilar with a 2. Ginebra still down 93-81.
• Marcio Lassiter’s 3 gives San Miguel its biggest lead of the game, 93-78, to start the fourth.
• END OF THIRD QUARTER: San Miguel 90, Ginebra 78.
• Jericho Cruz uncorks a 3! San Miguel 85, Ginebra 74.
• Jeremiah Gray keeping Ginebra alive here with five straight points.  Ginebra down 82-74, 3:09 third quarter.
• Chris Ross with another 3. His third of the game. 80-69 lead for San Miguel.
• Don Trollano 3! San Miguel up 77-66.
• RJ Abarrientos for 3! But Chris Ross answers with a 3 of his own. San Miguel 72, Ginebra 62.
• San Miguel and Ginebra trading buckets here in the third. Beermen still up 69-59.
• Strong opening to the third quarter for San Miguel Beermen, who take a 65-51 lead.
• END OF SECOND QUARTER: San Miguel 58, Ginebra 49.
• CJ Perez back to back baskets. San Miguel leads 45-41.
• Tied game at 39.
• RJ Abarrientos with his first field goal. He also gets the steal that leads to a Scottie Thompson bucket. Ginebra within one again, 39-38.
• Don Trollano for 3. San Miguel builds a 37-32 lead, 7:45 second quarter.
• Nards Pinto left wide up for 3. Ginebra down by one, 33-32.
• Cahilig and Grey trade 3s. San Miguel holding on to a 31-29 lead, 10:14 second quarter.
• END OF FIRST QUARTER: Ginebra 26, San Miguel 25.

PBA: CJ Cansino delivers career game in Meralco exit

MANILA, Philippines—In Meralco’s most important game of the conference, young gun CJ Cansino stepped up and shot the lights out.

Although his efforts weren’t enough to keep the Bolts alive in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals, Cansino still delivered a performance to remember on Wednesday.

“I guess I was unconscious at that point. When you sink your shots that you’ve been working on in the offseason,  I wasn’t expecting it,” Cansino told the Inquirer in Filipino after Meralco absorbed a heartbreaking 99-96 loss to TNT in Game 5.

“When you shoot your shots, you’ll feel the flow state. It didn’t feel like I was playing in the PBA, I just felt like a child playing.”

PBA: TNT stuns Meralco in wild finish, books return to Finals

MANILA, Philippines—TNT unloaded a wild endgame rally and shocked Meralco, 99-96, in Game 5 to advance to the PBA Philippine Cup Finals on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

For a moment there, it looked like Game 5 already belonged to Meralco until the Tropang 5G unleashed a massive 6-0 turnaround with 15.1 seconds left to pull the rug from under the Bolts.

“We’re just fortunate we caught a couple of breaks,” coach Chot Reyes said after steering TNT to its fourth straight Finals appearance.

“It really took our best to come out victorious. As for this win, I always preach the mantra of never giving up. Even when we were five points down, the players kept on saying, ‘kaya pa ‘yan.’”

WATCH: Jordan Heading and TNT coach Chot Reyes after the stunning Game 5 win over Meralco to return to the #PBAFinals. | @MeloFuertesINQ

•⁠ Follow our PBA live updates here: https://t.co/bgNLxkPCLJ pic.twitter.com/i3S3gRs94R

— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) January 14, 2026

LIVE UPDATES: Meralco vs TNT – PBA Philippine Cup Semifinals Game 5

• FINAL: TNT escapes Meralco, 99-96, in Game 5 to advance to the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

OH. MY. GOODNESS. 😳

TNT just scored six straight points—a four from Rey Nambatac and a fastbreak layup from Jordan Heading—to snag the lead from Meralco, 97-96, with 15.1 to go! #PBA50 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/S6Dba2hDXO

— Rommel Fuertes Jr. (@MeloFuertesINQ) January 14, 2026

• Rey Nambatac with a four! TNT gets the steal too and the basket. A MASSIVE 6-0 swing gives the Tropang 5G the lead, 97-96, 15.1 seconds left.

GOING HOME? CJ SAYS CANSI-NO! 🙅

WATCH: CJ Cansino puts Meralco up over TNT, 95-91, courtesy of a midrange jumper with 43.1 seconds left in Game 5. #PBA50 | @MeloFuertesINQ

•⁠ Follow our PBA live updates here: https://t.co/bgNLxkPCLJ pic.twitter.com/rQGnU0fXCn

— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) January 14, 2026

• The CJ Cansino show for Meralco Bolts! He continues to deliver in the clutch. Meralco leads 95-91, 43 seconds left.
• Raymar Jose and Jordan Heading trade baskets. Meralco with a 92-91 lead.
• CJ Cansino deep from the baseline! Meralco takes the lead, 90-88. 2:10 to go.
• Game tied at 88 after a split from the line from CJ Cansino. Over 2 minutes to play.
• CJ Cansino keeping Meralco alive here. Meralco just down by 1, 88-87.
• CJ Cansino with a big time four! Meralco within six, 86-80, under 5 minutes to play.
• TNT with a strong start to the fourth, now up by 11, 83-72.
• END OF THIRD: TNT 75, Meralco 72.
• Jordan Heading with another 3! 75-70 lead for TNT.
• Four-point swing helps TNT take the lead anew, 72-70.
• CJ Cansino with a nifty move to the hoop! Meralco up 70-68.
• CJ Cansino ties the game at 68 all. 2:16, third quarter.

Jansen Rios is wheeled out of the playing court after contesting a shot from Jordan Heading in the 3:15 mark of the third period.

Currently, TNT and Meralco are tied at 68-all in Game 5. #PBA50 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/NvIGlWuMag

— Rommel Fuertes Jr. (@MeloFuertesINQ) January 14, 2026

• Jansen Rios wheeled out of the floor with an apparent knee injury.
• Aaron Black stops the drought for the Bolts. They’re down 59-55.
• Calvin Oftana baseline jumper. TNT 59, Meralco 53.
• Calvin Oftana with a fake and conversion. TNT leads 57-53, 6:13 third quarter.
• Nambatac finds Poy Erram for 2. TNT now up 55-51.
• BGR rolls to the basket and TNT back in the lead, 52-51.
• BGR makes 2 freethrows. TNT down 51-50, 9:10 third quarter.
• HALFTIME: Meralco bucks an early deficit to take a 50-46 halftime lead over TNT in Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals. TNT leads the series, 3-1, needing one more win to reach the Finals.

WATCH: Game 5 of the PBA PH Cup semis between TNT and Meralco underway.

Should the Tropang 5G win today, they enter the #PBAFinals They currently lead, 32-31, with 9:23 left in the first half. | @MeloFuertesINQ

•⁠ Follow our PBA live updates here: https://t.co/bgNLxkPCLJ pic.twitter.com/pM4GhzIEUM

— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) January 14, 2026

• Jansen Rios for 3! Meralco up 41-38.
• Jordan Heading ties the game at 36, over 5 minutes left in the second quarter.
• Poy Erram ends Meralco run with a undergoal stab. TNT trails 36-34.
• Chris Banchero for 3! 14-2 run for Meralco for the 36-32 lead.
• Brandon Bates gives the Bolts the lead back, 33-32, after being down by as much as 15 in the first.
• Brandon Bates split. Meralco within one, 32-31.

WATCH: TNT’s RR Pogoy and Meralco’s Chris Newsome are sitting out Game 5 of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

TNT, with a 3-1 lead, could advance to the Finals with a win tonight. | @jonasterradoINQ pic.twitter.com/hhmjbBktqr

— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) January 14, 2026

• Aaron Black back to back buckets. Meralco only trails, 32-29. 9:58 second quarter.
• Meralco down only by five to start the second, 30-25.
• END OF 1ST QUARTER: TNT 30, Meralco 22.
• Aaron Black cuts Meralco’s deficit to 13, 26-13.
• CJ Cansino ends the slump for Meralco. TNT still leads 19-6.
• Jordan Heading with a 4 pointer! Suddenly a big 17-4 lead for the Tropang 5G.
• Back to back 3s from Jordan Heading gives TNT a 13-4 edge.,
• TNT regains the early lead, 10-4.
• 4-2 start for Meralco Bolts, 9:50 first quarter.

PBA: Kelly Williams, TNT try to close out confident Meralco

TNT veteran Kelly Williams isn’t a stranger to closeout games by any means.

He’s been there, done that. And yet he knew one thing for certain: closing out a team, even when owning a cushion of sorts in a best-of-seven series, is probably one of the hardest tasks to do.

“I think we always say that closeout games are the hardest, and with a team as good as Meralco, they’ll come out with their best punch,” Williams told the Inquirer on Sunday night at Mall of Asia Arena. “That’s what we’re expecting in the next game. We’re not looking any further than that.”

The Tropang 5G have all the reasons to breathe a bit more relaxed following Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals.

For one, they snagged a pivotal 3-1 lead over the Bolts to move within a win of returning to the PBA Finals.

PBA: Chris Newsome remains vocal leader despite knee injury

MANILA, Philippines—Meralco star Chris Newsome may be out of commission due to an MCL injury, but he’s still making sure to help the Bolts in ways he can.

The Bolts had to play without Newsome in their 102-83 loss to TNT in Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals, but the Gilas guard still made his presence felt from the bench.

“He’s still here. In spirit, huddles, he always talks to us. He tells us what to do. While he’s physically not on the court, he still talks to us for us to play well,” Brandon Bates told the Inquirer at Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday night.

“Obviously, when you lose one of your main guys, it’s always going to be difficult but you have to have that next man up mentality.”

PBA: Poy Erram’s big Game 4 surprises Meralco’s Raymond Almazan

MANILA, Philippines—Count Meralco big man Raymond Almazan among the ones who were caught off guard by Poy Erram in Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals.

Almazan was expecting either Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Kelly Williams, or Henry Galinato to hold it down in the paint for the Tropang 5G.

Turns out, it was Erram who led a dominant display for TNT in a 102-83 rout of Meralco on Sunday night at Mall of Asia Arena.

“I was totally surprised about that. He didn’t have many minutes before, but he came into the game ready. He’s a veteran. He surprised us,” Almazan told the Inquirer.

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TAGS: PBA Philippine Cup

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