For the third straight import-flavored conference dating back to last season, Barangay Ginebra and TNT Tropang 5G are meeting once again in the Finals of the Philippine Basketball Association Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup.

TNT won the previous two championship clashes, but history offers no guarantees.

The stakes feel heavier, with fresh storylines and unfinished business converging in what has all the makings of what could be a classic war.

The Tropang 5G are in the Finals for a fifth straight conference, a feat no team has achieved since TNT itself during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.

While TNT captured last season’s Governors’ Cup and Commissioner’s Cup crowns at the Kings’ expense, it also endured consecutive Philippine Cup Finals losses to San Miguel Beer right after. So the hunger remains very much alive.

One major difference is the absence of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, the man who repeatedly stood in Justin Brownlee’s way. An Achilles injury has prevented RHJ from suiting up this time after he won three Best Import awards in three championship victories against Brownlee-led Ginebra teams, including the 2023 Governors Cup.

Stepping into that void is Chris McCullough, who arrived after being recommended by Hollis-Jefferson himself when TNT lost another star import, Bol Bol, also to an Achilles injury.

Bol’s loss still looms large as he was the leading Best Import candidate while pacing the conference in scoring and shot-blocking. A Finals duel with Brownlee had seemed destined.

Instead, the spotlight now falls on McCullough — and his journey has produced one of the most fascinating twists of this championship series.

Unbelievable as it may seem, McCullough has never faced Ginebra in an official game.

When he joined the Beermen in 2019 as Charles Rhodes’ replacement — much like he replaced Bol this conference — San Miguel had already completed its elimination-round meetings with Ginebra. The two teams never crossed paths in the playoffs either, same with TNT this conference.

After all the twists and turns of his PBA career, McCullough will finally see Ginebra on the opposite side for the first time — and it happens to be in a battle for the title.

McCollough also has a chance to make history as he will aim to become only the third import in league history to win conference championships with different franchises. The only others to do it were Billy Ray Bates with Crispa and Ginebra, and Bobby Parks Sr. with San Miguel Beer and Shell. No import has accomplished the feat since Parks in 1990.

Brownlee is chasing a record of his own.

With six PBA championships, he is tied with Sean Chambers as the winningest import in league history. At 38, Brownlee has watched Hollis-Jefferson deny him that distinction three separate times. Now, with another title within reach, he has a golden opportunity to finally stand alone.

On the local front, RJ Abarrientos has emerged as Barangay Ginebra’s newest weapon.

Last season’s Rookie of the Year played a supporting role behind Scottie Thompson and LA Tenorio in the Kings’ Finals losses to TNT. This conference, he has blossomed into the Kings’ primary local scorer and a likely Best Player of the Conference winner.

His semifinal series against Rain or Shine ended with consecutive 30-point explosions, something no Ginebra player had done since Mark Caguioa 19 years ago.

History also adds pressure on the Kings. No team has lost three straight import-conference Finals since Toyota fell to Crispa in three consecutive championship series nearly five decades ago. Ginebra is determined not to become the second.

The stage is set for the 99th best-of-seven Finals in the league’s 50-year history.

History is waiting. And neither side plans to blink first.