Only legendary teams have made it to the list of those who have played in five straight PBA Finals, and TNT has now done it twice.
The upcoming PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Finals will be the 140th finals to be contested in league history.
During this stretch, only five franchises have managed to make it to five straight finals. This includes the TNT Tropang 5G, who will be in their fifth straight championship series once the Commissioner’s Cup Finals opens this Wednesday, June 3.
This is actually the second time that the TNT franchise has pulled off this feat. The first time was in the early 2010s behind a core led by Jimmy Alapag and Ranidel de Ocampo. In both instances, Chot Reyes was the head coach.
The other teams on this elite list are among the greatest in PBA history: the Crispa Redmanizers, the Toyota Tamaraws, the Alaska Aces, and the San Miguel Beermen. It’s by no means an easy feat, since there is just a short break between PBA conferences, and teams need to quickly reset.
According to Reyes, it’s even more difficult if a team is coming off a finals loss.
“The discipline and the consistency,” he said during the press conference for the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Finals on Monday. “The discipline to be consistent, I think, is the most important thing. There is a mental and emotional toll that it takes coming from a finals, especially if you lose a finals series.”
“You don’t have the adrenaline of victory. You’re kind of disappointed, discouraged. But we talk about it a whole lot. And I think that’s the first step in our game is to acknowledge that we’re not okay starting a series, starting a tournament because we’re still smarting from the difficulties of the previous tournament.
But, like I said, what I found about the players that we have is really their incredible resilience. Their willingness to keep fighting through all that.”
Communication is also key, according to Reyes.
“We had some very difficult conversations. And I’m here to tell you that they’ve called me out a lot. These guys, they really called me out on my shortcomings as well. And I think that’s what got us here. Our ability to confront and be ourselves, be very authentic, be very true to ourselves. Have the difficult conversations,” he said.
“And in the end, allow our game to speak for itself.”
For Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone, who led Alaska to an astounding seven straight finals in the mid-1990s, preparation is the biggest challenge.
“It’s just really, really hard to get your team ready every conference,” he told The GAME. “That’s why it’s not been done very often. It takes some great relationships. When we were doing it with Johnny (Abarrientos) and Jojo (Lastimosa) and Bong (Hawkins) and all those guys back then, it’s just having really deep relationships and continuity that allows you to do that kind of stuff.
“And a strong core of players. And you’re going to go through ups and downs. Even during our Grand Slam year with Purefoods or San Mig Coffee, we were, I think, sixth seed and fifth seed and seventh seed going in because it was just so hard to keep competitive every conference, but still find a way to get into the playoffs and find your way to be playing your best basketball in the playoffs.”
“And that’s what (TNT) has been able to do. They’ve been able to play their best basketball, come play all time. It doesn’t matter what seed they are.”
Cone said the mental aspect is the toughest challenge.
“That’s why it’s difficult. It’s difficult mentally. You’re worn out. Your players are worn out. There’s a lot of irritation that goes on because you are tired. And anybody who doesn’t get a lot of sleep, they’re irritated. Anybody who’s worn out in terms of business or work, they get irritated. It’s hard to create a continual chemistry together all the time,” admitted the PBA’s winningest coach.
“And those are the things you have to work through. It’s a tough thing to do mentally.”
Banner images from PBA Media Bureau.
Frequently Asked Questions
Only five franchises in PBA history have reached five consecutive Finals: the Crispa Redmanizers, Toyota Tamaraws, Alaska Aces, San Miguel Beermen, and TNT Tropang 5G. TNT is the only franchise to achieve this feat twice, both times under head coach Chot Reyes
According to Chot Reyes, the key factors are discipline, consistency, and the resilience to recover mentally from finals losses. Open communication and the players’ willingness to hold each other — and their coach — accountable have been central to sustaining their run.
The PBA’s short break between conferences gives teams little time to reset physically and mentally, especially after a finals loss. Tim Cone, who led Alaska to seven straight finals in the 1990s, cites the constant mental fatigue and difficulty maintaining team chemistry as the biggest obstacles.
Tim Cone points to deep player relationships and roster continuity as the foundation of sustained Finals runs. His Alaska dynasty in the mid-1990s relied on core players like Johnny Abarrientos and Jojo Lastimosa maintaining trust and connection across multiple conferences.
Yes — Chot Reyes is the only coach to accomplish this twice with the same franchise. He led the TNT Tropang 5G to five straight Finals in the early 2010s behind Jimmy Alapag and Ranidel de Ocampo, and is now doing it again in Season 50 of the PBA.
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