Chris McCullough returned to the Philippines after nearly seven years away and immediately reminded everyone why his first PBA stint back in 2019 was so memorable.
The 6-foot-10 import joined the TNT Tropang 5G only during the semifinals as a replacement for the injured Bol Bol. His stay ultimately lasted only a few weeks, ending with an 88–76 loss to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in Game 7 of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
Still, McCullough played valiantly enough to ensure that his short return will be remembered for far more than the final result.
McCullough finished the deciding game with 28 points, 22 rebounds, and three assists in 43 minutes despite battling foul trouble throughout the second half. He picked up his fourth foul midway through the third quarter and was forced to sit until late in the period. Less than a minute into the fourth, he was whistled for his fifth foul, leaving him with almost no room for error as TNT tried to mount one final comeback.
Despite the handicap, he still refused to disappear. McCullough scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and repeatedly pulled TNT back within striking distance whenever Ginebra threatened to blow them out. He scored five straight points to cut Ginebra’s lead to 77–74 with a little over five minutes remaining, then scored again at the 2:26 mark to make it a four-point game, 80–76.
McCullough’s Game 7 did have its lows though as he made only one of six free throws between the 7:46 and 6:03 mark of the fourth quarter. TNT trailed by six, 75–69, when the sequence began. Had he converted all six attempts, the Tropang 5G could have been much closer to Ginebra down the stretch.
His final-quarter numbers captured both sides of his performance. McCullough generated many of TNT’s best chances by attacking, drawing fouls, and rebounding, but he finished the period 2-of-9 from the field, missed all three of his four-point attempts, missed free-throws, and committed two turnovers. He was both the main reason TNT remained competitive yet one of the reasons their comeback eventually stalled.
Still, that should not diminish what McCullough accomplished during the series, particularly in Game 6. After Justin Brownlee scored a career-high 54 points in Game 5 while McCullough had 38, the TNT import responded with 53 points and 22 rebounds to win Game 6 and force a winner-take-all Game 7. It marked the first time in 37 years that opposing imports each scored more than 50 points in the same game, as Brownlee finished with 52 in Game 6.
McCullough first played in the Philippines in 2019, when he led San Miguel to the Commissioner’s Cup title over the same TNT franchise he represented this time around. Since leaving the NBA, he has played in several countries including the Philippines, China, Korea, Lithuania, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, and Indonesia. Prior to this stint with TNT, he suited up for the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards.
At 31, McCullough is unlikely to return to the NBA, but he still has plenty of basketball ahead of him in Asia. TNT may have fallen one win short of the title, yet his effort showed that he remains capable of carrying a team through the biggest games. McCullough’s return to the Philippines was brief, but after pushing Ginebra to seven games and delivering one of the greatest individual Finals performances in recent memory, it is unlikely to be his last.
