On a night when the imports of the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings and the TNT Tropang 5G churned in strong 50-point performances, it was Jordan Heading that had the last say in Game 6 of the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Finals. 

Heading put the final touches in the Tropang 5G’s 98-90 Game 6 victory, scoring and assisting on six of TNT’s last eight points. Chris McCullough’s 53-point, 22-rebound performance, and by extension Justin’s Brownlee’s second straight 50-point performance, but it doesn’t mean Heading’s performance wasn’t as valuable. 

The last few games of the Commissioner’s Cup Finals were prime examples of import dependency and with the way both imports have been playing, it’s hard to blame the Tropang 5G and the Gin Kings for leaning on them. But the finals tends to bring out the best even from the other players, and thus far it has been Heading who has stood out on TNT’s side as of late. 

With Calvin Oftana playing on an injured toe, Jayson Castro approaching 40, and RR Pogoy taking on a more subdued role, the responsibility to pick up the slack has fallen on Heading’s shoulders. He hasn’t run away from the task and he has answered the call admirably. Part of it comes from his international experience, but it also comes with the comfort of having to work with an import like McCullough, who himself is a seasoned veteran with championship experience. 

There’s no need for Heading to score in bunches, but this setup allows him to pick his spots and punish defenses that forget about him even for a moment. Game 7 will likely present the same opportunities as Ginebra’s defense will be focused on McCullough. WIth the way Heading has been playing, he will likely draw some attention from the Gin Kings, and it is slowly turning into a pick-your-poison situation where Ginebra will have to choose between letting McCullough score in bunches or face an offensive explosion from another member of the Tropang 5G. 

Then again, Game 7s are usually the times when you throw everything that happened in the past away. Strategies are obvious and everyone is exhausted. The moments are few and thus, matter more and for the TNT Tropang 5G, their key to a 12th PBA title will be how they seize these moments. And with the way things have played out, Jordan Heading seems to be the man for the job. All they can hope for now, is that he continues to seize the moment before anyone else from the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings side takes it and the title away from him.