The TNT Tropang 5G are four wins away from achieving a historic Grand Slam, and standing in their way are the San Miguel Beermen. Will the Tropang 5G draw first blood in finals? Or, will the Beermen notch that important Game 1 victory?

Catch this game live on Sunday,  July 13, 2025 at 7:30 pm, Manila time.

San Miguel Beermen (0-0)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Juami Tiongson
  • Marcio Lassiter
  • Don Trollano
  • Rodney Brondial
  • June Mar Fajardo 

The Beermen have gotten this far in large part because of June Mar Fajardo, which is not surprising at all. Arguably the greatest player in league history, Fajardo still put together a sterling and dominating performance in the semifinals against the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. At the same time, the Beermen chugged four wins in that series also because of a solid supporting cast. 

Chris Ross, for one, had a memorable Game 7 performance versus the Barangay, erupting for 19 points. Mo Tautaa and Don Trollano, meanwhile, added 14 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench.  Fajardo defines and anchors San Miguel’s offense, but the Beermen have other weapons who can create on their own, including Jericho Cruz, who averaged 11.9 points and posted an incredible 61.2 true shooting percentage against Ginebra (h/t Miguel Alfonso Caramoan of ESPN). As a team, the Beermen led the league in the elimination phase with an average of 108.0 points and a 48.1 percent shooting from the field.

TNT Tropang 5G (0-0)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Kim Aurin
  • Jordan Heading
  • Calvin Oftana
  • Glenn Khobuntin
  • JP Erram 

The Tropang 5G had a shorter route than SMB to the Finals, though not by much. TNT took care of business in the semis against the pesky Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in six games, flummoxing Yeng Guiao’s squad with stout defense. The Tropang 5G had success against the Elasto Painters despite nursing injuries. They missed the services of RR Pogoy, Rey Nambatac and Jayson Castro against Rain or Shine and even Kelly Williams. TNT will not be 100% healthy in the Finals, but it still has plenty of weapons to throw at San Miguel. 

Calvin Oftana and Jordan Heading form a dangerous 1-2 scoring punch, with the former offering mismatch opportunities inside and outside while the latter is a consistent perimeter threat who can open things up for other TNT players. Containing Fajardo is always going to be a big challenge, but with JP Erram and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, the Tropang 5G have bodies to cover the eight-time PBA Most Valuable Player.

Picks

Spread: TNT (+2.5)

Over/Under: Over (187.0)