He may be the odd man out in a group that knows one another like a book, but Chris McCullough already projects that the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Finals between TNT and Ginebra will be talked about for a long while.

“I think this is truly gonna be one of the PBA Finals that’s gonna be remembered for a long time,” offered the former San Miguel Beer import during the pre-Finals press conference at the Novotel Manila Araneta City in Cubao.

It’s quite an interesting take for somebody who’s making his first appearance in this age-old rivalry, but the 31-year-old sure knows a thing or two about the squads battling for gold for the fourth time in the last eight conferences.

His new team, TNT, for one, was the very same franchise he and the Beermen beat on the way to ruling the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup, and so he knew their quality way before joining them as Bol Bol’s replacement.

And definitely, he’s grown even more familiar with the way they do things, now that he has played three games with the Tropang 5G–games that were crucial as they led to their ouster of sister team Meralco in the semifinals.

Then there’s the Barangay. He’s never fought against the crowd darlings before, but the Syracuse product has been aware of their legend, more so about their NSD spirit, which was on display against Rain or Shine in the Final Four.

Add to that his familiarity with Justin Brownlee, who turns out to be someone he’s known for so long, when they were still making names for themselves.

“Great team, we’re going up against a great player. This is going to be one of the ones that’s gonna be remembered,” McCullough said.

The former NBA pro’s presence serves as one of the many layers to yet another Finals meeting between two proud ball clubs, and it would be truly interesting to see how he’d affect the entire best-of-7 affair that begins later tonight.

And it opens at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, the very same venue where ‘C-Mac’ won his maiden PBA championship and also where TNT and Ginebra played the classic Game 7 of the Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup Finals.

(C) PBA Images

Game 1 of the Finals is set later at 7:30 p.m., and according to the Casino Plus sportsbook, Ginebra is favored to win, with the handicap set at -3.

Wagers can be placed here: https://www.casinoplus.com.ph/home/inGame?name=basketball&title=SportBet.

The Tropa, as we all know, won that bout, 87-83, and history is actually in their favor as it marked the third straight time that they beat the Kings in the Finals, with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson serving as the lynchpin of those triumphs.

But the 3-time Best Import is out due to an Achilles injury, making McCullough among the centers of attention in this highly anticipated rematch.

“It’s a very different series this time,” head coach Chot Reyes reflected. “First of all, we have a different team because of the import that we have. The key, I think, is our ability to continuously adjust and adapt to Ginebra’s game.”

“And for me personally, my only objective is to be able to play at a high level. Because that’s the only way we can compete,” he added.

However, it won’t just be about who’s the better reinforcement, as the local stars are just as important, with TNT leaning on Roger Pogoy, Calvin Oftana, and Jordan Heading, who has regained his touch in the latter part of the semis.

Then of course, there’s the ageless Kelly Williams and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, both of whom have been sharing frontcourt duties.

Over at the Kings, there’s RJ Abarrientos, who’s the presumptive Best Player of the Conference, especially after a sterling series against the Elasto Painters, capped by back-to-back 30-point showings to close out their foes.

There’s also Scottie Thompson, who’s back to his ‘superstar role player’ mode now that he’s gotten more comfortable with Abarrientos as a running mate–a role previously assumed by future Hall of Famer LA Tenorio.

“It’s not fun being the second-place team,” offered Coach Tim Cone, who’s looking to grow his record collection of league championships to 26. “Both teams are deserving to be here. One’s going to come out on top.”

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Janine Pontejos wasted no time making her presence felt, powering Akari-Rizal to a dominant 100-67 victory over her former team Caloocan in the 2026 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on Wednesday at the MRB Gymnasium.

Pontejos, who was dealt to the Sparks alongside Rejoice Adlawan in exchange for Angel Anies and a second-round pick last week, torched her former squad with five triples en route to 21 points and five assists in just 16 minutes of action in her Akari-Rizal debut.

The win carried bigger implications for the Sparks, who secured at least a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals after improving to 6-1 and climbing to the top of the standings.

(C) WMPBL

Akari-Rizal remain in prime position to secure an outright semifinals berth as they continue their strong run in the tournament supported by Aktive.

The Sparks never looked back after a blistering start, racing to a 26-8 lead in the opening quarter and maintaining full control throughout. Akari-Rizal led by as many as 40 points in the fourth quarter following a Galicia layup that made it 92-52 with 4:09 remaining, sealing a wire-to-wire win.

“We need this win because we want this to be a springboard going into the next games dahil medyo, I would say malalakas ‘yung kalaban because we got Biñan and Batangas,” said Sparks head coach Derick Pumaren.

“We have to be ready for that kaya we didn’t take things for granted in this game,” he added.

Allana Lim added 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while Joanne Nagma contributed 10 points and five rebounds in less than 11 minutes of action for Akari-Rizal.

Jhenn Angeles finished with nine points, four assists, and three rebounds, while Camille Sambile tallied eight points, three assists, and two rebounds as the Sparks stretched their winning streak to four.

(C) WMPBL

Meanwhile, the Lady Kankaloo fell to 1-6 in the standings but remain in contention for a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals, needing to win their final three games to stay in the race.

Janeth Sison led Caloocan with 13 points and four rebounds, while Tin Capilit and Sofia Felisarta added 10 points each.

The Scores:

Akari-Rizal 100 – Pontejos 21, Lim 15, Nagma 10, Angeles 9, Sambile 8, Galicia 6, Prado 6, Palmera-Dy 5, Del Prado 4, Adlawan 4, Candelario 4, Ventura 3, Salapong 3, Abatayo 2, Flor 0

Caloocan 67 – Sison 13, Felisarta 10, Capilit 10, Anies 7, Camagong 7, Lorenzvi 6, Pedregosa 4, Serrano 4, Candido 3, Galgerra 1, Gonzalo 2, Ngo 0, Marcos 0, Madrid 0

Quarterscores: 26-8, 54-25, 77-40, 100-67

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In the highly competitive landscape of collegiate hoops, transferring from one storied program to another can easily spark drama and animosity—amplified by the country’s modern era of player movement where loyalty is often questioned.

However, for Janti Miller, stepping into the Blue Eagle Gym to face former school San Beda University once again as a member of De La Salle University felt less like a showdown and more like a reunion.

Since making the move from Mendiola to Taft over three months ago, the NCAA Season 101 Seniors Basketball Tournament champion—who averaged 19.77 points, 6.08 rebounds, and 1.15 assists per game last season—has been clear that, at the end of the day, it’s “all love” between him and the Yuri Escueta-mentored Red Lions.

“I love San Beda. I think a lot of people might have something to say. But as far as what I am hearing and experiencing, this is all love,” Miller told reporters on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s all love back for me. I get to talk to all my former San Beda teammates, I talk to them still to this day. This is all love.”

That sense of respect and gratitude is rooted not only in San Beda’s championship run last season, but also in the lessons Miller gained from Escueta and his former teammates—shaping him into the player he is today.

(C) Asiabasket

For the 6-foot-5 guard, the insights he learned from a decorated mentor like Escueta, along with former teammates Yukien Andrada, Bryan Sajonia, and Nygel Gonzales, helped him “fit like a glove” in his new home in the UAAP with the Green Archers.

From once sharing the floor with Andrada, Miller now plays alongside the UAAP men’s basketball defending champions, led by Jacob Cortez, Mason Amos, Earl Abadam, Luis Pablo, and Jcee Macalalag.

“Coach Yuri played a big part in that. And playing in the championship of the NCAA. That was my first time having a championship run last year,” Miller explained.

“San Beda taught me a lot of things about the game of basketball that helped me to come and fit in like a glove here.”

Despite the mutual respect, Miller still managed to carve out a measure of redemption against his former team.

In his first matchup against San Beda, he was limited to just four points in 15 minutes of action in a narrow 76-77 loss to the Red Lions during the NSAC 2026 College Basketball Campus Tour opener.

But with higher stakes and a podium finish on the line, the 22-year-old guard responded with 18 points, three rebounds, one block, and one assist in a commanding 78-61 victory over San Beda to secure a bronze-medal finish.

“The last time that I played San Beda, I did not play really good. So I wanted to come out here individually and play good and get a dominant win over my former team. And also because yesterday, we lost for a chance to go to the finals. It’s just a good win,” Miller shared.

“It was more fun. Way more fun. Me and Dan [Marcelo] were talking the other day, saying that we should have been playing in the championship game. This match-up should have been the championship game. But it was still good and fun to battle for third.”

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