Published by: Kimmi Rebato
With a commanding performance, the San Miguel Beermen roared back to the PBA throne, overpowering the TNT Tropang Giga with a final score of 107-96 in Game 6 to clinch the 2025 PBA Philippine Cup Finals series, 4-2, on July 25 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The victory marked San Miguel’s 30th overall PBA title and 11th All-Filipino crown, while simultaneously dashing TNT’s hopes of capturing a historic Grand Slam.
San Miguel opened the game with intensity, quickly building a 13-4 lead before TNT responded behind Calvin Oftana’s perimeter shooting.
In the second quarter, June Mar Fajardo dominated inside, allowing the Beermen to stay ahead with a slim 52-47 advantage at halftime.
The third period saw a momentum-shifting 12-0 run led by Jericho Cruz and CJ Perez, giving San Miguel a double-digit cushion.
TNT threatened a comeback in the fourth, trimming the lead to eight, but Cruz stepped up with a driving layup and key free throws, while Fajardo’s late-and-one play sealed the victory.
Fajardo powered through the paint with 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting and pulled down 12 rebounds. Perez matched his scoring output with 24 points of his own and added six assists. Both led the offensive charge, but it was Jericho Cruz who walked away with Finals MVP honors.
While Fajardo and Perez carried much of the scoring load in Game 6, Cruz’s impact was felt throughout the series.
He averaged double-digit scoring across all six games and played a crucial two-way role. Cruz provided consistent bench scoring, delivered clutch baskets in the third quarters of Games 2, 4, and 6, and was often tasked with defending TNT’s primary ball handlers.
His all-around contribution — steady production, energy, leadership, and hustle — proved vital in swing moments, earning him the Finals MVP nod.
Despite the absence of key players, TNT put up a resilient effort.
Calvin Oftana led the Tropang Giga with 19 points, while Kelly Williams and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser contributed 17 and 15, respectively. Their Game 5 win forced a sixth game, but the momentum didn’t carry over.
This championship is San Miguel’s first since 2022 and once again highlights the strength of its championship core.
“๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฉ?” said Fajardo, who collected his 11th PBA title.
Head coach Leo Austria, who clinched his 10th championship, praised both teams for a hard-fought series.
“๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ’๐ ๐๐ฆ๐น๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด. ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ,” Austria said.
The 2025 Finals also marked the sixth championship clash between San Miguel and TNT. The Beermen have now won five of those six series, cementing their dominance in one of the PBA’s defining rivalries of the past decade.
San Miguel’s road to the championship was far from smooth. Inconsistent performances early in the conference raised questions, but the team locked in when the playoffs began.
A 3-1 series lead was tested by TNT’s Game 5 pushback, but San Miguel’s experience and depth prevailed in Game 6.
Looking ahead, San Miguel’s victory reestablishes the franchise as the league’s gold standard. With a strong mix of veteran leadership, rising stars, and consistent coaching, the Beermen once again sit at the top of Philippine basketball.
REFERENCES:
Villanueva, R. E. (2025, July 25). Beermen back on PBA throne. Philstar. https://www.philstar.com/.../2460734/beermen-back-pba-throne
Carandang, J.K. (2025, July 25). San Miguel reclaims PBA Philippine Cup crown, ends TNT’s Grand Slam bid. GMA News Online. https://www.gmanetwork.com/.../pba-smb-vs-tnt.../story/
Caramoan, M. A. (2025, July 25). San Miguel Beermen reclaims PBA Philippine Cup throne. ESPN. https://www.espn.com.au/.../san-miguel-beermen-reclaims…
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