Titan Ultra made sure that no repeat of their first-round encounter would take place by getting back at Macau, 132-128, to notch only its second win in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Tuesday.
The Giant Risers showed much better poise this time, unlike in their July 25 duel in Antipolo. Tirrell Brown led the closeout after the guest team rallied back from 25 down and knocked to within a single digit late in the game.
The wide-bodied import figured in a shootout with counterpart De’Vondre Perry. But Brown had the last laugh when he knocked down a perimeter jumper, which proved to be the dagger as it pushed their lead to 132-124 with 12.6 seconds left.
Coach Rensy Bajar and his charges improved to 2-5 in the Group A standings, gaining confidence entering their clash with a vengeful TNT this Saturday at the Ynares Center II in Montalban.
They’ll be taking on the team they stunned last July 22 in Antipolo, 103-87, for their first win, though the defending champions have since started cruising.
(C) PBA Images
“We started strong, especially in the first quarter, “ said Coach Rensy Bajar as they rolled to a 47-29 lead after the first before turning it into an 80-60 lead entering the break. “Ang nangyari lang sa amin, I think, is that we relaxed a bit.
“But nag-stick together lang ‘yung mga bata, lalong-lalo na ang ganda ng nilaro ng second group namin. We had 57 points [off the bench], which is nakatulong sa amin. Kailangan lang namin is consistent defense,” he added.
Brown flirted with a triple-double with 36 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists to lead Titan. Joshua Munzon backed him up with an 18-6-5 stat line.
Roi Sumang supplied 14 points and five rebounds, while rookie Bryan Sajonia added 13 markers. Together, the quartet steadied the ship after getting rocked when Mark Omega suffered a bad fall and had to be stretchered out of the venue.
Omega landed on his back after leaping for a rebound at the 11:07 mark of the final period and struggled to get up on his own before the medics came in.
“Hindi ko pa alam kung anong sinabi ng PT namin, but we just pray. Alam naman namin kung gaano kasama ‘yung bagsak niya,” lamented Bajar. “Pinag-pray lang talaga namin siya kanina na sana walang serious na mangyari.”
(C) PBA Images
Perry, on the other hand, had game-highs of 45 points and 14 rebounds for a Macau team that failed to complete a group phase sweep of Titan Ultra.
Ramon Cao — the star of their 132-126, come-from-behind win versus the Giant Risers — had 24 points and 12 rebounds. Damian Chongqui made 18 points and nine assists, with Jeffrey Ma making 18 as well, alongside 10 rebounds.
Kobey Lam added 14 as the Titan Ultra defense circled in on Jenning Leung, whom it held to only seven points. He’d fired 22 on top of three rebounds, seven assists, and four steals in their first meeting as he was his team’s x-factor.
The Giant Panda dropped to 2-5 as well, and their bid to get back on track will have to go through San Miguel, which beat them in Round 1, this Saturday.
The Scores:
Titan Ultra 132 – Brown 36, Munzon 18, Sumang 14, Sajonia 13, Balanza 9, Ular 9, Dionisio 8, Yu 7, Omega 6, Javillonar 5, Pessumal 4, Wong 3.
Macau 128 – Perry 45, Cao 24, Ma 18, Chongqui 18, Lam 14, Leung 7, Lu 2, Chao 0.
Quarterscores: 47-29, 80-60, 108-93, 132-128.
