ALL-IN OR ALMOST | TNT'S QUEST FOR THE GRAND SLAM

FROM ONE SPORTS

TNT is just three wins away from becoming the sixth team in league history to capture a grand slam.

However, with San Miguel holding a commanding 3-1 lead and injuries disrupting their campaign, TNT is now in danger of joining the long list of teams that came close but fell short.

What makes this more ironic is that since 1998, only two teams have managed to win two of the three conferences in a single PBA season—TNT and San Miguel. The Beermen actually lead all franchises in that category, having done it six times, including the season before their 1989 grand slam. Of the six tries, three of them had June Mar Fajardo. Among the four teams that completed a grand slam, only the Purefoods/San Mig Super Coffee/Magnolia franchise has never won two conferences in any other season apart from their grand slam run in 2013–14. Out of the 16 teams that have won two championships in a season, nine failed to clinch the final conference.

TNT, once in striking distance of a grand slam, is now on the brink of becoming the first team to lose its shot in the finals of the last conference twice. As it stands, they currently share this unfortunate distinction with Toyota, which lost its chance when it fell to Crispa in 1975. If TNT loses again, they will become the first team to fall short of a grand slam twice in the finals stage.

Before we dive into Game 5, let’s take a quick trip down memory lane and revisit the teams that fell just short of the elusive grand slam. Let me say this first: winning two conferences in a single season is no easy feat. Many iconic PBA teams like U/Tex, Sta. Lucia, and Rain or Shine only have two championships in their entire PBA run. Among these three, only Rain or Shine remains an active franchise, but it has been nine years since they last appeared in the PBA Finals.

1975 | TOYOTA COMETS

MYTHICAL FIVE | FRANCIS ARNAIZ

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
1975	FIRST	TOYOTA	CRISPA
	SECOND	TOYOTA	CRISPA
	ALL-PHL	CRISPA	TOYOTA

1977 | CRISPA REDMANIZERS

MVP | FREDDIE HUBALDE

MYTHICAL FIVE | HUBALDE, ATOY CO

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
1977	AFC	CRISPA	MARIWASA
	OPEN	CRISPA	U/TEX
	INVI	TOYOTA	EMTEX BRAZIL

1978 | TOYOTA TAMARAWS

MVP | ROBERT JAWORSKI

MYTHICAL FIVE | JAWORSKI, RAMON FERNANDEZ

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
1978	AFC	TOYOTA	FILMANBANK
	OPEN	U/TEX	CRISPA
	INVI	TOYOTA	TANDUAY

1982 | TOYOTA SUPER COROLLAS

MVP | RAMON FERNANDEZ

MYTHICAL FIVE | FERNANDEZ, FRANCIS ARNAIZ, ABE KING

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
1982	REIN	TOYOTA	SAN MIGUEL
	INVI	SAN MIGUEL	CRISPA
	OPEN	TOYOTA	GILBEY'S GIN

1984 | GREAT TASTE COFFEE MAKERS

MYTHICAL FIVE | RICARDO BROWN, MANNY VICTORINO

MYTHICAL TEN | BOGS ADORNADO

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
1984	1ST AFC	CRISPA	GREAT TASTE
	2ND AFC	GREAT TASTE	BEER HAUSEN
	INVI	GREAT TASTE	CRISPA

1985 | GREAT TASTE COFFEE MAKERS

MVP | RICARDO BROWN

MYTHICAL FIVE | BROWN, MANNY VICTORINO, WILLIE PEARSON

MYTHICAL TEN | ABE KING

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
1985	OPEN	GREAT TASTE	MAGNOLIA
	AFC	GREAT TASTE	SHELL
	REIN	NORTHERN	MANILA BEER

1986 | TANDUAY RHUM MAKERS

MVP | RAMON FERNANDEZ

MYTHICAL FIVE | FERNANDEZ, FREDDIE HUBALDE

MYTHICAL TEN | PADIM ISRAEL, JB YANGO

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
1986	REIN	TANDUAY	GREAT TASTE
	AFC	TANDUAY	GINEBRA
	OPEN	GINEBRA	MANILA BEER

1988 | SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN

MVP | RAMON FERNANDEZ (ACQUIRED FROM PUREFOODS)

MYTHICAL FIVE | FERNANDEZ, ABET GUIDABEN (TRADED TO PUREFOODS), RICARDO BROWN, HECTOR CALMA

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
1988	OPEN	SAN MIGUEL	PUREFOODS
	AFC	ANEJO	PUREFOODS
	REIN	SAN MIGUEL	SHELL

1995 | SUNKIST ORANGE JUICERS

MVP | VERGEL MENESES

MYTHICAL FIVE | MENESES

MYTHICAL TEN | NELSON ASAYTONO, BOYBITS VICTORIA, BONEL BALINGIT

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
1995	OPEN	SUNKIST	ALASKA
	AFC	SUNKIST	ALASKA
	REIN	ALASKA	SAN MIGUEL

1998 | ALASKA MILKMEN

MVP | KENNETH DUREMDES

MYTHICAL FIVE | DUREMDES, JOHNNY ABARRIENTOS, JOJO LASTIMOSA

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
1998	AFC	ALASKA	SAN MIGUEL
	COM	ALASKA	SAN MIGUEL
	CEN*	MOBILINE	SHELL
	GOV	SHELL	MOBILINE

1999 | SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN

MYTHICAL FIVE | DANNY SEIGLE

MYTHICAL TEN | DANNY ILDEFONSO, OLSEN RACELA

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
1999	AFC	SHELL	TANDUAY
	COM	SAN MIGUEL	SHELL
	GOV	SAN MIGUEL	ALASKA

2000 | SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN

MVP | DANNY ILDEFONSO

MYTHICAL FIVE | ILDEFONSO, DANNY SEIGLE, OLSEN RACELA

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
2000	AFC	ALASKA	PUREFOODS
	COM	SAN MIGUEL	STA. LUCIA
	GOV	SAN MIGUEL	PUREFOODS

2010-11 | TALK N TEXT TROPANG TEXTERS

MVP | JIMMY ALAPAG

MYTHICAL FIVE | ALAPAG, KELLY WILLIAMS

MYTHICAL TEN | JAYSON CASTRO, ALI PEEK

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
2010-11	PHL	TALK N TEXT	SAN MIGUEL
	COM	TALK N TEXT	GINEBRA
	GOV	PETRON	TALK N TEXT

2014-15 | SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN

MVP | JUNE MAR FAJARDO

MYTHICAL FIVE | FAJARDO, ARWIND SANTOS

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
2014-15	PHL	SAN MIGUEL	ALASKA
	COM	TALK N TEXT	RAIN OR SHINE
	GOV	SAN MIGUEL	ALASKA

2016-17 | SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN

MVP | JUNE MAR FAJARDO

MYTHICAL FIVE | FAJARDO, ARWIND SANTOS, ALEX CABAGNOT

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
2016-17	PHL	SAN MIGUEL	GINEBRA
	COM	SAN MIGUEL	TNT
	GOV	GINEBRA	MERALCO

2019 | SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN

MVP | JUNE MAR FAJARDO

MYTHICAL FIVE | FAJARDO

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
2019	PHL	SAN MIGUEL	MAGNOLIA
	COM	SAN MIGUEL	TNT
	GOV	GINEBRA	MERALCO

2024-25 | TNT TROPANG 5G

YEAR	CONF	CHAMP	RUN-UP
2024-25	PHL	TNT	GINEBRA
	COM	TNT	GINEBRA
	GOV

Again, winning two titles in a season is no easy task. But achieving a grand slam makes history a little more generous to the teams and individuals who pulled it off.

Toyota had three chances, but people still consider Baby Dalupan the better coach compared to Dante Silverio, and Crispa the superior team because of what they accomplished. That said, many now see Tim Cone as the better coach than Dalupan. Beyond his longevity, he won two grand slams with two different teams. Derrick Pumaren might have been more fondly remembered if he had completed the feat in 1995, just like the Tanduay Rhum Makers, the franchise Purefoods acquired at the end of the 1987 season. Even a coach like Jong Uichico could have improved his legacy had he pulled it off in 1999 or 2000. The same goes for Leo Austria, who won two of three conferences three times with June Mar Fajardo but never managed a grand slam.

For a coach like Chot Reyes and a team like TNT, completing this feat could greatly elevate their place in PBA history. They now face the final three games of the 2024–25 season in do-or-die mode, either to become the sixth team to win a grand slam or the 17th team to fall just short.