Fran Yu caught fire in the fourth quarter as Titan Ultra added to the miseries of Blackwater, 97-86, to finally notch its second win in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The gunslinging guard unloaded 10 of his 14 points in the chapter, including a rare four-point play as he scored seven to lead a 10-3 rally toward an 81-70 lead with 6:52 remaining, swinging momentum in their favor for good.
And when the Bossing got to within a single digit again, he was there to restore order, knocking down a trey which Calvin Abueva and Joshua Munzon followed up with hits of their own to push their lead to 91-77 with 3:03 to go.
Yu shot 5-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point distance, and also tallied two rebounds and seven assists to help the Giant Risers arrest a harrowing four-game losing slide and improve to 2-4 in the standings.
“Luckily, pumapasok lang tira ko kasi kapag nag-ka-clog sila kina Josh at Calvin malilibre at malilibre kaming mga guards. Iyon ang opportunity naming mag-create para sa kanila,” said Yu, who earned Player of the Game honors.
(C) PBA Images
Abueva notched a third straight double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead Titan Ultra, with Munzon adding 18 as they atoned for the heartbreaking defeat they suffered at the hands of Rain or Shine the last time out.
Aljun Melecio supplied 11 while Von Pessumal chipped in 10 as they all played a role in the major second-half turnaround after trailing at the half, 47-42.
“Kailangan we have to change our attitude in the second half kasi nag-kanya-kanya ulit kami. Hindi kami makapag-push ng bola kaya lumamang ng first half ‘yung Blackwater because of that,” offered head coach Johnedel Cardel.
“But in the third quarter and fourth quarter we did our gameplan, especially in pushing the ball and playing defense,” added the seasoned mentor.
(C) PBA Images
Defense was indeed key for the Giant Risers as they made it a bad shooting night for the Bossing’s tandem of Sedrick Barefield and Christian David.
Barefield did finish with 18 points but went 6-of-14 from the field, while David shot just 6-of-20–including 2-of-11 from three– but ended up with 15 points.
Troy Mallilin made 17 points while Dalph Panopio tallied a full line of 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks but their efforts weren’t enough as Blackwater fell to its fourth consecutive defeat (1-5).
The Scores:
Titan Ultra 97 – Abueva 23, Munzon 18, Yu 14, Melecio 11, Pessumal 10, Flores 7, Balanza 5, Ambohot 3, Dionisio 3, Cuntapay 1, Barasi 0, Ular 0, Sumang 0.
Blackwater 86 – Barefield 18, Mallilin 17, Panopio 15, David 15, Tratter 6, Mendoza 5, Guinto 4, Andrade 2, Escoto 2, Murrell 0, Zamar 0, Dumont 0, Jopia 0.
Quarterscores: 20-18, 42-47, 71-67, 97-86.
