One foot in the finals

MANILA, Philippines — Facing the media after taking a loss and producing 24 in his debut for TNT last Wednesday, Chris McCullough declared that once he gets going, “it will be scary.”

Last night, a better-adjusted, in-the-groove McCullough backed up his bold words.

The 6-foot-9 import dropped 42 big points and 11 rebounds, presiding over a telling 15-10 bomb in the last 6:10 en route to a pivotal 103-95 Game 5 win over Meralco that put Tropang 5G on the threshold of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals.

Barangay Ginebra also closed in on a finals stint after drubbing Rain or Shine, 111-104, in front of an 11,779-strong crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

RJ Abarrientos rifled in 31 as he joined forces with Justin Brownlee (32) in towing the Gin Kings to the bounceback to their 85-97 loss in Game 4 and to the vital 3-2 upperhand in the emotionally intense series.

McCullough shot 57.1 percent in this go-ahead victory. This marked a major leap from the 31.8 clip he made two nights before, when, with only two practice sessions with the defending champions as Bol Bol’s replacement, he posted 24-9 in their 90-101 setback in Game 4.

“I just need to get my legs underneath. I had two weeks off playing basketball and I’m just happy to be back,” said McCullough, who last saw action in Taipei prior to taking TNT’s call.

It was McCullough’s back-to-back treys and 17-point fourth-quarter barrage that sparked TNT’s late breakaway.

“Last game, he just had two practices with us and now he’s had the benefit of a game and an extra practice,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes of the former Brooklyn Net who previously helped San Miguel to the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup diadem.

“It’s important for him to get acclimatized with his teammates, on what we want to do but also just get back to the scheme of things here in the PBA,” said Reyes.

NOTES: Action in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup playoffs has reached fever pitch and Pinoy fans are loving it.This much is reflected in the big turnout in both live attendance and viewers of the games’ broadcast on TV and other platforms. Game 4 of the semifinal series last Wednesday drew an audience of 14,615 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, which marks the largest of the conference in any venue and the second overall in the entire Season 50. The benchmark set was the 15,222 that witnessed Game 4 of the Philippine Cup Last 4 at the SM MOA Arena. The preceding third match of the mid-conference semis saw 10,412 attending also at the MOA venue. That game likewise made a killing in TV audience.Based on numbers reported by the league, the Ginebra-Rain or Shine duel posted the highest rated game to date at 3.57-percent audience share on PHINTAM (Philippine National Television Audience Measurement) during its telecast over RPTV.The audience share is translated to a total of 2.5 million viewers.