Brandon hot on 1st PBA title

TNT Tropang 5G big man Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser relishes the opportunity to earn his first-ever championship in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

He’s all stoked and looks forward to contributing to the Tropang 5G’s grand slam bid in the Philippine Cup after being sidelined by a knee injury in the franchise’s conquests in the first two conferences of Season 49.

“I’m excited. I mean, I had to watch two finals already from the sidelines and now to be a part of it, I’m just excited. I still have a lot of work to do. I’ll keep pushing,” he said.

But the 6-foot-6 forward is in for a tougher job in the best-of-seven finals starting on Sunday, facing either San Miguel Beer’s behemoth June Mar Fajardo or Barangay Ginebra’s athletic tower in Japeth Aguilar.

The Beermen and Kings dispute the right to try and stop TNT from becoming the fifth team to accomplish a triple crown in a best-of-seven semifinals decider today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Not one player can stop either of those guys,” Ganuelas-Rosser admitted after the Tropang 5G finished off Rain or Shine, 97-89, in Game 6 of their semis series Sunday at the Big Dome.

“It’s going to take a collective effort. It’s going to be exciting to go up against those guys and see how I do,” he added.

TNT has beaten San Miguel in the elimination round but suffered a 19-point whipping at the hands of Ginebra in their first meeting.

Ganuelas-Rosser will play a big role in the banged-up and depleted TNT’s campaign to settle an unfinished business since falling short of joining legendary teams Crispa (two-time grand slam winner), San Miguel, Alaska and San Mig Coffee in the elite club of three-conference sweepers back in 2011.

The 31-year-old bruiser averaged 11 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.83 blocks and 1.0 assist in the semis while holding his own against the Elasto Painters’ physical frontliners Keith Datu, Jhonard Clarito and Leonard Santillan.

Ganeulas-Rosser’s contributions have helped TNT get through to the next round despite limited manpower with Jayson Castro (knee) and Rey Nambatac (groin) out for the season while RR Pogoy was out for four straight games in the semis due to hamstring issues and veteran forward Kelly Williams (ankle) skipping the team’s last two games.

“It feels good. It feels nice to come out on the winning end of this series,” Ganuelas-Rosser said.

“It was really tough. Rain or Shine played some great basketball and then they blew us out twice. Every win for us came down to the wire. It was hard fought. I’m just proud of the team and how we played,” he added.

The 2022 top overall pick is now eyeing to have his name etched as one of the vital cogs of TNT’s champion team. And probably start chasing the accomplishments of his retired brother, Matt, who holds six titles — four with San Miguel and two with TNT.