Import-less Tropang 5G stun Bolts to move within two wins of title series

Coach Chot Reyes (middle) leads the on-court celebration for TNT after upset Game 3 win over Meralco. —MARLO CUETO

In a twist to its import situation, TNT is bringing a familiar, tested name to fill the big shoes left by the injured Bol Bol.

Chris McCullough arrived on Sunday as Bol’s replacement and had a preview of what he hopes would be a fruitful stint when he witnessed the Tropang 5G fight it out despite playing all-Filipino in slipping past Meralco, 77-75, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

That gave TNT a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven series in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals, as McCullough will be tasked to try and replicate his role in San Miguel Beer’s run to the 2019 title of the same conference where he and the Beermen brought down TNT.

“It’s sad to see an injury like that, but hopefully he can get back home and get surgery,” McCullough said, first expressing his well-wishes to his fellow ex-NBA player.

“I just want to help this team win as [much as] possible, do what I got to do, just play basketball,” he added as TNT now begins the process of getting him integrated into the way things are run before Wednesday’s Game 4.

His Tropang 5G debut is at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, where he’ll be tasked to lead his new squad to a commanding 3-1 lead.

McCullough’s signing ends a whirlwind 48 hours for TNT after Bol went down in Friday’s 87-76 Game 2 loss with a partial Achilles tear, as team manager Jojo Lastimosa immediately got the lines burning.

The first Game 3 option was actually to suit up Malick Diouf, the former University of the Philippines star, before naming a permanent fix.

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But with government agencies required in order for Diouf to be given the okay to play closed for the weekend, the Tropang 5G were left with no choice but to go with an all-local crew.

“They called me around Friday night and they told me if I’m available and I said yes,” Diouf said. “I was really excited for it because I thought it was a great opportunity to show people that I can play here. But hopefully I can play soon.”

With both Diouf and McCullough on the sidelines as spectators, TNT’s locals had to weather out the disadvantage, as well as an 11-point deficit, to squeak past Meralco and move two wins away from a fifth consecutive Finals appearance.

Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser came up with crucial plays down the stretch, while RR Pogoy knocked down the go-ahead three with seven seconds left before TNT saw CJ Cansino and Javee Mocon miss point-blank attempts as time expired.

“It’s really disappointing losing Bol, losing our teammate, losing our brother,” said Ganuelas-Rosser. “Coach said that he (Bol) messaged him and said he really wanted to be out there. So we wanted to go out here and dedicate the game to him and play for him.

“You know, he carried us here, so hopefully we can bring (ourselves) across the finish line and we can finish the job,” he added. INQ