San Miguel Ends TNT's Grand Slam Dream, Secures 30th PBA Title With Game 6 Win

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by Lou Reyes

SMB's June Mar Fajardo (center) towers over TNT 5G players. Photo: PBA Images.

San Miguel Beer reclaimed the PBA Philippine Cup crown in emphatic fashion, dashing TNT’s hopes of a historic Grand Slam with a 107-96 Game 6 victory on Friday, July 25, at the PhilSports Arena.

The win not only ended the Beermen’s three-conference title drought but also cemented their status as the league’s most decorated franchise with a 30th championship—11 of which have come from the prestigious All-Filipino tournament.

San Miguel took full control of the second half behind the trio of CJ Perez, June Mar Fajardo, and Jericho Cruz. Cruz, who was later named Finals MVP, sparked a pivotal third-quarter surge that proved too much for the Tropang 5G to overcome.

TNT trimmed the deficit to four early in the third, 52-56, but San Miguel responded with a blistering 24-8 run led by Cruz’s nine points in that stretch, ballooning the lead to 80-60.

2025 PBA Philippine Cup Finals MVP Jericho Cruz. Photo: PBA Media Bureau.

Perez bounced back after a quiet Game 5, pouring in a series-best 24 points, along with 6 assists and 3 rebounds. Fajardo was nearly flawless, finishing with 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting and grabbing 12 boards. Cruz added 13 points and 6 assists, rounding out a balanced effort that sealed the title.

Throughout the series, Cruz averaged 13.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists—earning his first Finals MVP honor and playing a key role in keeping TNT at bay.

The result echoed the events of the 2011 Governors’ Cup, when then-Talk 'N Text fell short of a Grand Slam after losing to Petron Blaze (now San Miguel) in a dramatic seven-game series.

Once again, history repeated itself. The Tropang 5G, who captured the first two conferences of the 2024–25 season, were on the brink of joining the PBA’s Grand Slam elite—Crispa, San Miguel (1989), Alaska, and San Mig Coffee—but came up just short.

Instead, it’s San Miguel who reigns supreme again, denying TNT a place in history and reasserting their own as the league’s most dominant dynasty.