PBA: CJ Cansino delivers career game in Meralco exit
LIVE: PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals Game 5
Meralco Bolts’ CJ Cansino during Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals against TNT Tropang 5G. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
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’s the result you’ve been working on in the offseason. I wasn’t expecting it, but my teammates gave me confidence,” 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.”
Despite Meralco’s elimination in Game 5 of the #PBA50 Philippine Cup semifinals, CJ Cansino gave it his all with a career-high 36 points in the loss. @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/oDu1tNhcul
— Rommel Fuertes Jr. (@MeloFuertesINQ) January 14, 2026
Cansino scored a career and game-high 36 points that went with five rebounds, three assists and two steals in the loss that sent TNT into the PBA Finals.
The University of the Philippines product shot efficiently, knocking down 12 of 20 attempts from the field for a 60 percent clip, and delivered when it mattered most for the Bolts.
Seventeen of his 36 points came in the fourth quarter as Meralco made a last-ditch push to stay alive against the Tropang 5G.
Unfortunately, Cansino missed two crucial chances late—first a layup that could have given Meralco the lead, then a potential game-winning four-pointer.
Cansino said both shots involved contact but chose not to dwell on the officiating.
“Personally, I felt some contact but the referees decided it. I don’t use the refs as my excuse, I just have to accept the calls made.”
