The TNT Tropang 5G fell short of a rare Grand Slam in PBA Season 49 after San Miguel stopped them in the Philippine Cup Finals. They aim to change that this Season 50.
Fresh off a remarkable double-championship season that could have been a hat-trick, TNT is back with vengeance.
After coming within two wins of a rare Grand Slam that it conceded in the end to San Miguel, the Tropang 5G are determined to start strong in its bid to claim the All-Filipino crown.
First on their list is Phoenix as they open their PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup campaign at the Ynares Center in Montalban Friday, Oct. 10.
[RELATED STORY: PBA: Kevin Ferrer feels like a rookie as career gets new lease on life with TNT Tropang 5G]
Gametime is at 7:30 p.m.
TNT head coach Chot Reyes leads a rejuvenated squad that took full advantage of the long offseason to rest and regroup.
Stars RR Pogoy, Calvin Oftana, Rey Nambatac and Jordan Heading are all back in action after recovering from nagging injuries that hampered them late last year.
To address their lack of size — exposed during their Finals loss to towering June Mar Fajardo and the Beermen — the Tropang 5G bolstered their frontline with the addition of Kevin Ferrer and Tyrus Hill, both expected to provide size and versatility in the paint.
TNT also signed free agent Jio Jalalon.
[RELATED STORY: Jio Jalalon excited to join TNT Tropang 5G ahead of PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup]
Meanwhile, Phoenix will look to spoil TNT's start, leaning on its young core to test the powerhouse in the first Friday night doubleheader of the new season.
For the Tropang 5G, the road to redemption begins anew — and anything less than the Philippine Cup championship will feel unfinished.
(With reports from Jan Ballesteros)
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[Editor’s note: This article was written by a member of the One Sports Digital with the help of AI, and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]