The TNT Tropang 5G and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters continue their intense series.

Catch this game live on Friday,  June 25, 2025 at 7:30 pm, Manila time.

TNT Tropang 5G (1-0)

Projected Starting Five:

• RR Pogoy
• Jordan Heading
• Calvin Oftana
• Glenn Khobuntin
• Kelly Williams

Behind the offensive prowess of RR Pogoy, the Tropang 5G got the 1-0 series lead over Rain or Shine following a 98-91 victory on Wednesday. Pogoy scattered 28 points on 11-for-24 shooting while Calvin Oftana and Jordan Heading added 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the TNT’s starting unit. The Tropang 5G didn’t shoot well in the series opener, as they made just 41.7 percent from the field, but they also didn’t let the Elasto Painters shine either. Rain or Shine shot just 40.7 FG%, with TNT also dominating the glass. 

Moreover, the Tropang 5G were plus-15 in the rebounding battle and plus-7 in second-chance points. That helped spell the difference in TNT’s favor, as the pair of JP Erram and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser had a field day in the frontcourt, combining for 29 points and 20 boards, a trend that can continue, given their size advantage over Rain or Shine. The Tropang 5G can’t predict how their shots will fall during a contest, but they are making sure that they put up tremendous effort on defense, which clearly benefited them in Game 1, where they also had three blocks.

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (0-1)

Projected Starting Five:

• Gian Mamuyac
• Adrian Nocum
• Jhonard Clarito
• Caelan Tiongson 
• Leonard Santillan

Rain or Shine doesn’t have to push the panic button yet, but the Elasto Painters need to find an antidote to TNT soon. That may require bigger effort from the Elasto Painters’ healthy bigs such as Keith Datu and Leonard Santillan, after both players failed to make a significant impact on the floor for Rain or Shine.  Datu scored just three points and grabbed only three rebounds while Santillan went 2-for-11 for five points to go with six boards. 

Those numbers are not going to cut it for Rain or Shine, which also got 14 points and seven rebounds from the undersized but gritty Jhonard Clarito in Game 1. Winning the rebounding battle and taking possessions away from TNT will be crucial in this series for Rain or Shine. Datu and Santillan were also part of the Elasto Painters’ bench that got outscored by its TNT counterpart last Wednesday, 41-30. Meanwhile, Rain or Shine’s guards showed life in the series opener with Andrei Caracut scoring 16 points and Adrian Nocum chipping in 13 points.

Picks

Spread: Rain or Shine (+4.5)

Over/Under: Under (190)