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.

Patton plays with a calm presence, no sense of urgency or desperation, unlike what we saw from Lee, because he believes he can deliver.

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

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

2025-26 PBA COMCUP | POWER RANKINGS | START TO MAR 31

Stockton thrives under the spotlight, but costly mistakes in those moments could eventually give management reason to explore other options.

No offense to Barangay Ginebra fans, but this is MVP’s winningest team versus Ramon Ang’s winningest team.

NCAA MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYERS IN THE PBA

All 13 teams have played two games each in this conference, so I think I have a good sample of stats to show here. Basically, Bol Bol is the sheesh, leading all imports in points and blocks. Marcus Lee, on the other hand, has got to be the next import to go if he hasn't been let go already, or if he puts up the same stats that Rodney Brondial usually gives San Miguel in the Philippine Cup. Coming in hot out of the gates, though, is Robert Upshaw III, followed by the suspended

Garrett Kelly was replaced by the Macau Black Knights with former ABL World Import MVP and Christian Standhardinger teammate Marcus Elliott.

It’s a rare case: a player making a clutch play while simultaneously committing a flagrant foul.

Bol Bol has drawn the ire of PBA fans for his work, despite topping the imports in points and blocks.

LA Tenorio is now the coach of the Magnolia Hotshots, the second team Cone led to a grand slam.

So finally, welcome to the Rookie Rankings.

In an interview with the Bilyonaryo News Channel, Commissioner Willie Marcial even said that Titan Ultra had not formally informed the league that they had signed the former Best Player of the Conference winner.

Justin Chua is both a winner and a team player. As a temporary solution at center until further notice, I really like this pickup for TNT.

Yes, Converge is loaded with talent. But when players don’t get what they want, that team can easily turn into a Petronovela.

The thing about the four-point line is that the novelty may have already run its course.

Chiu might even be the one to eventually take the place of June Mar Fajardo once The Kraken is ready to step away from international competition.

Anyway, on the opening day of the Commissioner’s Cup, four rookies stepped onto the court. Let’s see how they fared.