Sophomore guard CJ Cansino drilled a clutch four-point shot in the final minutes to help the Meralco Bolts stave off a late TNT rally and secure a 101-90 victory, tying the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals at 2-2 on Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
With Meralco’s 11-point lead trimmed down to just three, 93-90, following a corner triple by TNT’s Roger Pogoy, Cansino launched a booming 27-foot four-pointer under heavy defensive pressure. The shot found the bottom of the net with 1:21 remaining, stretching the lead to 97-90 and effectively halting the Tropang Giga’s comeback attempt.
Cansino finished the match with 17 points, a significant jump from his 8.3-point average over the first three games of the series.
“Mas natuto lang kami sa past games namin. And ‘yung composure namin mas kailangan pa… diinan pa, kasi ganu’n palagi nagiging problema namin eh,” said Cansino after the game.
The Bolts closed out the game on an 8-0 run, highlighted by a putback from Javee Mocon and a driving layup by Cliff Hodge, keeping TNT scoreless for the remainder of the contest. The win turns the all-MVP Group matchup into a virtual best-of-three series.
The strong finish also handed new Meralco import Patrick Gardner a victorious debut. The American-Egyptian forward anchored the Bolts with a double-double of 20 points, including three three-pointers, and 13 rebounds before fouling out of the game with 3:26 left on the clock.
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CJ Cansino and the Meralco Bolts level the playing field once again, capturing Game 4 against the TNT Tropang 5G in their best-of-seven semifinal series in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup!#PBA50 #PBA50LID pic.twitter.com/ekuRWuGjXl
— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) May 27, 2026
Head coach Luigi Trillo credited his team’s focus after losing their reinforcement down the stretch.
“They found their rhythm there, even with Patrick fouling out,” Trillo said. “I thought we did a good job as a team keeping our poise not only on offense but defense as well.”
Meralco displayed balanced scoring across the board. Mocon recorded his own double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, Aaron Black chipped in 12 markers, and Chris Newsome added 11 points to provide solid offensive support.
The Bolts’ defensive effort spoiled the PBA comeback of TNT’s new import Chris McCullough. The former champion with San Miguel led the Tropang Giga with 24 points and nine rebounds but struggled from the floor, shooting just 7-of-22.
Jordan Heading contributed 15 points for TNT, while Pogoy and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser tallied 14 apiece. Calvin Oftana rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Tropa with 10 points.
Game 5 of the series is scheduled for Friday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
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