PBA blue bloods TNT Tropang Giga and San Miguel Beermen are on a collision course this weekend, with both teams eyeing a win to strengthen their playoff goals. Will the Tropang Giga deal a heavy blow to San Miguel’s postseason aspirations with a win? Or, will the Beermen score a huge victory in their last game of the elimination phase?
Catch this game live on Sunday, January 26, 2025 at 7:30 pm, Manila time.
TNT Tropang Giga (7-3)
Projected Starting Five:
- Rey Nambatac
- RR Pogoy
- Calvin Oftana
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
- Henry Galinato Jr.
The Tropang Giga are already assured of a top-eight spot in the elimination but there is still work to do for them, as they are yet to secure a top-four seat. In any case, it was great for TNT to successfully recover from an embarrassing upset loss to the Terrafirma Dyip last Wednesday. On Friday, the Tropang Giga demolished the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 106-70, flexing their muscles and sending a strong message across the PBA. It was a complete team effort for TNT against Phoenix, with 10 players scoring at least six points and three with at least 10.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led the way for TNT with 15 points and 10 boards while RR Pogoy had 12. Having clearly learned their lesson from the Terrafirma stunner, the Tropang Giga will be looking to humble a shaky San Miguel side, which has already made multiple import switches this conference. The familiarity of RHJ with his teammates and the PBA is one notable advantage TNT has over SMB, especially during this crucial phase of the conference.

San Miguel Beermen (5-6)
Projected Starting Five:
- Juami Tiongson
- CJ Perez
- Marcio Lassiter
- Malik Pope
- Junemar Fajardo
San Miguel is fighting for its playoff hopes. That is the reality for the Beermen, who gave their chances to make the postseason a big shot in the arm by ending a two-game skid with a wild 116-113 takedown of the Converge FiberXers on Friday. Before that, San Miguel suffered a 100-93 loss to the Meralco Bolts and got beaten by the NorthPort Batang Pier, 105-104.
Juami Tiongson came through for his new team, as he had 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting against Converge while Malik Pope finally had a great game for San Miguel, producing 22 points and 14 boards while going 9-for-18 from the field. Whether Pope can be as effective – if not more – against TNT remains to be seen, but the Beermen are hoping his showing in the Converge game will be duplicated in this crucial game for San Miguel. As always, Junemar Fajardo is a main factor for San Miguel, with or without an import. He had 19 points and 14 boards against Converge.
Picks
Spread: TNT Tropang Giga (-3.5)
Over/Under: Under (195.5)
