2020 PBA Philippine Cup finals

2020 PBA Philippine Cup finals

Team Coach Wins (1) Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Tim Cone 2 (3) TNT Tropang Giga Bong Ravena 0
Dates	November 29 – present
Television	Local: One Sports TV5 PBA Rush (HD) International: AksyonTV International
Announcers	see Broadcast notes
Radio network	Radyo5 (DWFM)
Referees
Game 1: R. Yante, R. Gruta, J. Narandan, J. Baldago

The 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Finals is the best-of-7 championship series of the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup, the lone conference of the season. The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the TNT Tropang Giga compete for the 42nd Philippine Cup championship and the 128th overall championship contested by the league. For the first time in six seasons and after winning the previous five titles, the San Miguel Beermen will not be defending their Philippine Cup title after being eliminated by the Meralco Bolts in the quarterfinals.

This is the first time that the two teams met in the Philippine Cup finals since the 2004–05 season when Barangay Ginebra won the championship against Talk 'N Text, four games to two.

Background

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel

Before the season started, Ginebra suffered a major blow when Greg Slaughter decided to take a break from basketball, following the expiration of his contract. Ginebra added Arvin Tolentino, Jerrick Balanza, and Kent Salado to the roster after selecting them in the 2019 PBA draft.

Ginebra started the season with four straight wins. However, they suffered from two straight setbacks after losing to Magnolia and Rain or Shine. Ginebra would eventually go 4–1 over their final five games to finish the eliminations round with an 8–3 record. Their record was tied with Phoenix for the best in the league, but Ginebra took the first seed as they defeated Phoenix in the eliminations. They advanced to the quarterfinals, holding a twice-to-beat advantage.

In the quarterfinals, Ginebra faced off against Rain or Shine. They defeated them in one game, 81–73, to advance to the semifinals. In the best-of-5 semifinals, Ginebra faced off against Meralco. This marked the fifth time in the last five years that both teams met in the playoffs. The series went to the distance after the two teams alternated wins in the first four games. In the do-or-die game 5, both teams were tied at 80 with 14.5 seconds left. In the game's final possession, Scottie Thompson drilled the game winning triple with 0.6 seconds left to send Ginebra to the Philippine Cup finals.

TNT Tropang Giga

Before the season started, TNT, NLEX, and Blackwater completed a three-team trade that sent Poy Erram, a former Defensive Player of the Year, to TNT.

TNT started the season strong after pulling off five straight wins. However, TNT struggled over their last six games, going 2–4 to finish the eliminations round with a 7–4 record, tied for the second best in the league. TNT would eventually get the third seed after quotients were applied. As part of the top 4 seeded teams, TNT advanced to the quarterfinals with a twice-to-beat advantage.

In the quarterfinals, TNT faced off against Alaska. They would advance to the semifinals after defeating Alaska in one game, 104–83. In the semifinals, TNT faced Phoenix, who held the second seed. After winning the first game, TNT fell to the brink of elimination after losing two straight games. TNT would eventually bounce back, defeating Phoenix in the final two games to advance to the Philippine Cup finals.

Road to the finals

Main article: 2020 PBA Philippine Cup

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel		TNT Tropang Giga
Finished 8–3 (.727) in 1st place with Phoenix	Elimination round		Finished 7–4 (.636) in 3rd place with San Miguel, Meralco, Alaska and Magnolia
Barangay Ginebra 1–0 Phoenix	Tiebreaker		Head-to-head quotient: TNT 1.074, San Miguel 1.023, Meralco 0.992, Alaska 0.959, Magnolia 0.955 (3rd place)
Def. Rain or Shine in one game (twice-to-beat advantage)	Quarterfinals		Def. Alaska in one game (twice-to-beat advantage)
Def. Meralco, 3–2	Semifinals		Def. Phoenix, 3–2

Head-to-head matchup

TV5

November 6, 2020 6:45 pm

Box score

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 85, TNT Tropang Giga 79
Scoring by quarter: 20–11, 16–21, 28–25, 21–22
Pts: Pringle 28 Rebs: Pringle 12 Asts: Tenorio 9		Pts: Castro 19 Rebs: Parks 13 Asts: Castro, Rosario 3

AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center, Angeles Referees: N. Quilinguen, R. Gruta, J. Narandan, J. Baldago

Series summary

Game	Date	Venue	Winner	Result
Game 1	November 29	AUF Sports and Cultural Center	Barangay Ginebra	100–94 (OT)
Game 2	December 2			92–90
Game 3	December 4		*	*
Game 4	December 6		*	*
Game 5*	December 9		*	*
Game 6*	December 11		*	*
Game 7*	December 13		*	*

Game summaries

Game 1

TV5

November 29, 2020 6:00 pm

Box score

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 100, TNT Tropang Giga 94 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 22–27, 19–14, 25–30, 26–21, Overtime: 8–2
Pts: J. Aguilar 25 Rebs: J. Aguilar 16 Asts: Tenorio 10		Pts: Parks 20 Rebs: Erram 10 Asts: Castro 5
Barangay Ginebra leads series, 1–0

AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center, Angeles Referees: R. Yante, R. Gruta, J. Narandan, J. Baldago

Ginebra won Game 1, 100-94, in overtime to take a 1-0 series lead. Japeth Aguilar led Ginebra with 25 points and 16 rebounds on an efficient 11-14 shooting while Stanley Pringle had 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Three other players scored in double digits for Ginebra. Bobby Ray Parks Jr. paced the scoring for TNT with 20 points before fouling out in overtime.

In the first quarter, TNT started off strong, leading by as much as 7 before taking a 5 point lead heading to the second quarter. Scoring slowed down in the second quarter, with Ginebra outscoring TNT, 19-14, to tie the game heading into halftime. Ginebra began to pull away in the third quarter as they led by as much as 9 with 6:55 left in the quarter. However, TNT went on a 20-6 run to end the quarter with a 5 point lead. Both teams went back-and-forth in the fourth quarter. In the final minutes of regulation, TNT hit three consecutive three pointers to take a 1 point lead with 36 seconds left. Ginebra had a chance to take the lead but Pringle lost the ball out of bounds. Parks was fouled on the ensuing possession, but he split his free throws. With 11 seconds to go, LA Tenorio drove to the basket before passing to a cutting Arvin Tolentino, who hit the game-tying layup with 5 seconds left. With a chance to win, Jayson Castro missed a floater before time expired.

In overtime, TNT struggled to find its offense, scoring only 2 points in overtime as Ginebra slowly pulled away. Ginebra effectively sealed the game when Tenorio found a wide open Aguilar for an uncontested dunk, giving them a 6 point lead with 19 seconds left.

Game 2

TV5

December 2, 2020 6:00 pm

Box score

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 92, TNT Tropang Giga 90
Scoring by quarter: 21–17, 15–23, 32–30, 24–20
Pts: Pringle 34 Rebs: Mariano, Thompson 9 Asts: Pringle 8		Pts: Pogoy 38 Rebs: Erram 11 Asts: Castro 6
Barangay Ginebra leads series, 2–0

AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center, Angeles Referees: P. Balao, J. Mariano, M., J. Tantay

Game 3

TV5

December 4, 2020 6:00 pm

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel vs. TNT Tropang Giga

AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center, Angeles

Game 4

TV5

December 6, 2020 6:00 pm

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel vs. TNT Tropang Giga

AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center, Angeles

Game 5

TV5

December 9, 2020 6:00 pm

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel vs. TNT Tropang Giga*

AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center, Angeles

Game 6

TV5

December 11, 2020 6:00 pm

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel vs. TNT Tropang Giga*

AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center, Angeles

Game 7

TV5

December 13, 2020 6:00 pm

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel vs. TNT Tropang Giga*

AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center, Angeles

Rosters

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 2020 PBA Philippine Cup roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # POB Name Height Weight College G/F 2 Dillinger, Jared 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1984–01–06 Hawaiʻi G 3 Salado, Kent (R) 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 1995–11–10 Arellano G 5 Tenorio, LA 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 151 lb (68 kg) 1984–07–09 Ateneo G 6 Thompson, Scottie 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1993–07–12 UPHSD F 10 Tolentino, Arvin (R) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1995–11–05 Far Eastern G 11 Pringle, Stanley 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1987–03–05 Penn State F/C 12 Caperal, Prince 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1993–06–12 Arellano G/F 16 Chan, Jeff 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1983–02–11 Far Eastern F 18 dela Cruz, Arthur 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1992–05–09 San Beda F 23 Aguilar, Raymond 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1985–07–27 National-U F/C 25 Aguilar, Japeth 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1987–01–25 Western Kentucky F 31 Mariano, Aljon 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1992–08–03 UST F 38 Devance, Joe (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1982–02–19 UTEP G 47 Caguioa, Mark 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1979–11–19 Glendale CC (CA) G 70 Balanza, Jerrick (R) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1996–09–06 Letran	Head coach Tim Cone Assistant coach(es) Richard del Rosario (1st assistant) Freddie Abuda Kirk Collier Olsen Racela Team manager Alfrancis Chua[a] Raymond Rodriguez (assistant) Legend (C) Team captain (CI) Commissioner's Cup Import (GI) Governors' Cup Import (EI) EASL Import (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended (R) Rookie Injured Roster

• ^a Also serves as Barangay Ginebra's board governor.

TNT Tropang Giga 2020 PBA Philippine Cup roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # POB Name Height Weight College G 0 Enciso, Simon 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1991–02–12 Notre Dame de Namur G 1 Parks, Bobby Ray Jr. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1993–02–19 National-U F 4 Carey, Harvey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1979–03–18 Sonoma State C 7 Erram, John Paul 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 227 lb (103 kg) 1989–07–07 Ateneo F 9 de Leon, Samboy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1992–03–09 Centro Escolar G 10 Reyes, Ryan (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1983–08–10 Cal State Fullerton G 11 Chauca, Val (R / IN) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 1994–10–11 Adamson G 12 Alejandro, Jayjay 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 1995–04–13 National-U F 14 Semerad, David 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1991–04–25 San Beda G 15 Montalbo, Kib (R) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 1995–04–02 De La Salle G/F 16 Pogoy, Roger 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1992–06–16 Far Eastern G 17 Castro, Jayson 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1986–06–30 Philippine Christian F 18 Rosario, Troy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1992–01–20 National-U F/C 23 Washington, Jay 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1981–10–10 Eckerd G 26 Vosotros, Almond 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1990–01–26 De La Salle F/C 34 Flores, Lervin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1992–09–26 Arellano F/C – Javier, Chris 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1992–12–06 UE	Head coach Bong Ravena Assistant coach(es) Sandy Arespacochaga (1st assistant) Yurri Escueta Alton Lister Joshua Reyes Ranidel de Ocampo Mark Dickel (consultant) Team manager Gabby Cui Miguel Fernandez (assistant) Legend (C) Team captain (CI) Commissioner's Cup Import (GI) Governors' Cup Import (EI) EASL Import (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended (R) Rookie Injured Roster

Broadcast notes

The Philippine Cup Finals was aired on TV5 with simulcasts on One Sports and PBA Rush (both in standard and high definition). TV5's radio arm, Radyo5 provided the radio play-by-play coverage.

One Sports provided online livestreaming via their official YouTube account and Facebook fan page using the TV5 feed.

The PBA Rush broadcast provided English-language coverage of the Finals.

Game	TV5		PBA Rush (English)		Courtside reporters
	Play-by-play	Analyst(s)	Play-by-play	Analyst(s)
Game 1	Magoo Marjon	Ryan Gregorio	Aaron Atayde	Dominic Uy	Selina Dagdag-Alas
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4

External links

• PBA official website