For all intents and purposes, the Meralco Bolts had Game 5 of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals in the bag. The Bolts held a 96-91 with 27 seconds left in the contest and even with a 4-point shot available, the TNT Tropang 5G were still staring at a two-score deficit. Yet none of that mattered as the Tropang 5G did what many felt was inevitable. 

TNT needed less than half the time left on the clock to take the lead, stun Meralco, and advance to the finals for the fourth consecutive conference. It’s one of those times where the unexpected turned out to be unsurprising, not only because of the Tropang 5G’s talent, but also because of their championship experience. As winners of three of the last six PBA championships, TNT has experienced the highs and lows a PBA conference can offer. The wins have come in bunches and in various forms, while they have fought slumps and injuries to remain among the league’s most successful franchises in the last decade. 

Part of their success has been in their ability to reload rather than rebuild. Solid guard play has been a staple with the Tropang 5G from the days of Jimmy Alapag to Jayson Castro and now Jordan Heading. Heading was TNT’s latest acquisition and his presence, along with Rey Nambatac, helped atone for the loss of Castro and the health woes of RR Pogoy. In fact, it was Heading who made the key play that helped bring the Tropang 5G back to the finals. 

But this current iteration of TNT continues to be Calvin Oftana’s team. While the Tropang 5G have a ton of guards at their disposal, none of them can be a matchup nightmare like Oftana. His ability to extend his game beyond the paint makes life easier for his teammates but in Game 5, it was his teammates’ turn to repay the favor. The finals will likely see Oftana taking on a larger role and while wildcards tend to be role players, that may not be the case for TNT. 

While their prospective finals opponents both have talented frontcourts, none can consistently guard Oftana. It’s either they give up height or athleticism; the in-between does not exist. The two-time PBA All-Star will punish opposing teams that put smaller defenders on him and slip by those that are as tall as him. 

That being said, the TNT Tropang 5G’s inevitability is not contingent on one player, but on their ability to adapt to their current circumstances. It speaks to their roster construction and how they blend talent together. Truly, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.