One Sports looks back on the fiercest PBA Finals battles between proud franchises San Miguel and TNT.
San Miguel and TNT squared off in a PBA Finals four times in the last 10 years.
However, the Beermen have had the Tropang 5G’s number, winning all best-of-seven finales convincingly under the Philippine basketball’s brightest lights.
Before the two proud franchises square off anew in the Season 50 Philippine Cup Finals beginning Wednesday, Jan. 21, One Sports looks back on their last four battles in the championship round.
[WATCH: PBA LIVESTREAM: San Miguel vs TNT | Philippine Cup Finals Game 1]
2017 Commissioner’s Cup
It was at the height of SMB’s Death Five era.
San Miguel was so dominant that two Beermen in Chris Ross and Alex Cabagnot led the race for the Best Player of the Conference at the end of the elimination round.
[ALSO READ: Is RR Pogoy suiting up for TNT’s Philippine Cup Finals vs San Miguel?]
Ross ended up with the hardware, but Cabagnot earned the Finals Most Valuable Player plum in the series that saw the latter average 20.3 points, eight rebounds, 5.8 assists and 13 steals.
Cabagnot posted a triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in the series-clinching 115-91 win in Game 6.
2019 Commissioner’s Cup
In a conference that saw TNT’s Jayson Castro (Best Player of the Conference) and Terrence Jones (Best Import) take the major individual awards, San Miguel prevailed.
Behind Chris McCullough, the Beermen survived Jones, a former Houston Rocket starter, in six games.
[ALSO READ: Willie Marcial urges referees to stay ready as PBA Philippine Cup Finals near]
Like Jones, McCullough is also a former NBA player and has since expressed his desire to play as a naturalized Filipino for Gilas Pilipinas.
Season 47 Philippine Cup (2022)
San Miguel needed seven games to dispose of the Tropang 5G.
In Game 7, the Beermen went on a 17-0 tear to turn a five-point deficit into a 119-97 victory for the franchise's ninth All-Filipino championship.
[ALSO READ: PBA: Leo Austria stakes pristine Philippine Cup Finals record vs TNT]
June Mar Fajardo reintroduced his might after suffering an injury in his tibia that sidelined him for a significant amount of time.
He went on to win the Finals MVP after averaging 19.0 points and 16.6 rebounds.
Season 49 Philippine Cup (2025)
San Miguel denied TNT a Grand Slam by winning the best-of-seven series in six games in 2025.
Jericho Cruz earned the Finals Most Valuable Player nod after finishing with 13 points, four rebounds, six assists and a steal in the championship-clinching 107-96 decision.
[ALSO READ: PBA: Rey Nambatac raring to make difference in TNT-San Miguel Philippine Cup Finals duel]
TNT was troubled with injuries after a busy season that saw it capture the championship in the first two conferences.
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Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.