He was benched after his fourth foul with 6:45 left in the fourth quarter.
Gardner made his PBA debut in Game 4, recording 20 points and 13 rebounds shortly after arriving from a title loss in the Japan B.
League B2 Finals. He replaced Marvin Jones as the import for Meralco.
"This kind of happened very quickly and I thought it'd be a great opportunity for me to play in a country like this with such huge basketball fans," Gardner said.
Meralco struggled in Game 5 as Chris Newsome scored 10 points, Jason Brickman missed four of his five field goals, and CJ Cansino finished with four points.
TNT capitalized on Gardner's absence late in the game.
Game 6 is scheduled for Sunday at 7:30 p. m.
>>> Utrecht Marathon Road Closures Set as Harry Styles Rumors Swirl
TNT aims to close out the series and secure their fifth consecutive finals appearance.
