With only the Governors' Cup left on the calendar, every game will carry extra weight as the MVP contenders make one final push to strengthen their cases before the votes are cast.

Jimmy Alapag is back in the PBA, and I think he arrived at exactly the right time for the NLEX Road Warriors.

The thing about a PBA season is that players should start and finish the season with their teams.

2025-26 PBA SEASON STATS | NLEX ROAD WARRIORS | AFTER TWO CONFERENCES

2025-26 PBA SEASON STATS | TNT TROPANG 5G | AFTER TWO CONFERENCES

2025-26 PBA SEASON STATS | RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO PAINTERS | AFTER TWO CONFERENCES

2025-26 PBA SEASON STATS | BLACKWATER BOSSING | AFTER TWO CONFERENCES

2025-26 PBA SEASON STATS | SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN | AFTER TWO CONFERENCES

2025-26 PBA SEASON STATS | PHOENIX FUEL MASTERS | AFTER TWO CONFERENCES

2025-26 PBA SEASON STATS | CONVERGE FIBERXERS | AFTER TWO CONFERENCES

2025-26 PBA SEASON STATS | TERRAFIRMA DYIP | AFTER TWO CONFERENCES

2025-26 PBA SEASON STATS | MERALCO BOLTS | AFTER TWO CONFERENCES

2025-26 PBA SEASON STATS | TITAN ULTRA GIANT RISERS | AFTER TWO CONFERENCES

2025-26 PBA SEASON STATS | MAGNOLIA HOTSHOTS | AFTER TWO CONFERENCES

2025-26 PBA SEASON STATS | BARANGAY GINEBRA | AFTER TWO CONFERENCES

2025-26 PBA SEASON | LEAGUE LEADERS: REBOUNDS AND ASSISTS (AS OF JUNE 19)

2025-26 PBA SEASON | LEAGUE LEADERS: POINTS (AS OF JUNE 21)

Reports indicate that the Giant Risers are set to trade the rights to Arvin Tolentino to the Magnolia Hotshots in exchange for the rights to Will Navarro.

With a boxer’s cut on his right eye, Scottie Thompson came out of his offensive slump when it was needed most.

With the championship on the line, expect both imports and all the locals, for that matter, to empty the tank one last time.

I saw what might be the beginning of the end of Jayson Castro's superstar status.

Abarrientos debuted in the KBL at 23, moved to the PBA just before turning 25, and captured the conference's top individual award barely a year later.

2026 PBA COMMISSIONER'S CUP FINALS | GINEBRA VS TNT | HALFWAY POINT

As usual, the rich get richer in the PBA. We may already be numb to it, but the league sometimes needs to remind fans why these kinds of trades make sense without having to justify them after the fact.

2026 PBA COMMISSIONER'S CUP SEMIS | TNT VS MERALCO | SERIES STATS

The 2026 PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals are now set, with the TNT Tropang 5G and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings renewing their rivalry.

In Game 4, Christian Manaytay and Mike Malonzo made a lot of things work as they helped Rain or Shine even its series against Barangay Ginebra. That said, the real war happened on the sidelines, with Yeng Guiao and Alfrancis Chua exchanging words at the end of the match.

TNT is set to face Meralco with the Bolts parading a new import in Patrick Gardner.

2026 PBA COMMISSIONER'S CUP SEMIS | TNT VS MERALCO | HALFWAY POINT

2026 PBA COMMISSIONER'S CUP SEMIS | RAIN OR SHINE VS GINEBRA | HALFWAY POINT

It turned out that Diouf is now out, and former San Miguel import Chris McCullough is now TNT's import. Apparently, the team eventually relented after McCullough kept “bugging” them for a chance to play. At the same time, Diouf’s papers couldn’t be processed on time, which only compounded the situation.

With the injury happening so suddenly and Sunday’s game turning into a must-win battle, TNT has tapped Malick Diouf as its replacement import for Bol Manute Bol.

For a player of Bol’s size, leg injuries are certified career-shorteners. It happened to Ralph Sampson, and it also derailed the superstar rise of Yao Ming. While he can still recover from this injury, it may have effectively closed the door on a return to the NBA.

TNT'S LOCAL SUPPORT DESTROYED NLEX

Personally, it feels more like a player who fully trusts his game. But in this do-or-die situation, Lastimosa made the wrong decisions at the worst possible time.

Ever since acquiring the franchise rights of Air21 in 2014, the NLEX Road Warriors have never reached the PBA Finals, let alone won a championship.

The 2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup elimination round is over, and for some reason, the results are unexpected.

MIKE PHILLIPS | MPBL STATS

In a league where most players peak in their 30s and imports are generally younger, it’s the team’s responsibility to help their import understand his role while also keeping him in check. Right now, it feels like they’re just guiding Bol’s game, when in reality, they also need to establish their own.

The Macau Black Knights just made me realize how much I hate unprepared teams. I call this as I see it. The team will go down in infamy as the first PBA Commissioner’s Cup guest team to get the elimination round boot, and as the reason the league would think twice about bringing an unproven squad into the mix.

It’s funny how three players from the Macau Black Knights are sitting at the top of the list.

2025-26 PBA COMMISSIONER'S CUP | ROOKIE RANKINGS | START TO MAR 31

At this point, CJ Austria is building a reputation around two things: betting on himself and making the most of every opportunity.

2025-26 PBA COMMISSIONER'S CUP | IMPORT RANKINGS | START TO APRIL 22

Pampanga is one of the MPBL's best teams of all time. Led by Justine Baltazar and coach Delta Pineda, the team whooped everyone's ass with gameplay a notch above everyone else.

Reports say Patton was dealing with an illness, was absent from their Saturday practice, and then simply did not show up for their game against the Magnolia Hotshots.

If Cariaso is patterning his triumvirate after the Alaska squads of the 2000s, Barefield could be his Willie Miller, David his Tony De La Cruz, and Panopio his JVee Casio. If that’s the case, then he’s still missing players who can replicate the impact of Joe Devance and Sonny Thoss—and that’s the problem.

2027 PBA DRAFT | THE VERY EARLY TRACKER?

At the end of the day, Rain or Shine proves that while superstar trades—or even “harvesting” from farm teams—can matter, success still comes down to building something out of what you have. And right now, that philosophy is exactly what’s fueling their rise.

The only reason why their optics are bad is that Magnolia isn't as title-driven as in previous seasons. For these three, I think it's best for them to just accept whatever role they have with the team.