It’s been a while since Titan Ultra last won twice in a row, and the neophyte ball club will be seeking that high when it takes on Macau in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup later tonight at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The clash between cellar-dwellers is set at 5:15 PM, with the Giant Risers aiming to sustain momentum from their 103-87 stunner of the defending champions TNT just last Wednesday in the very same venue.
It was their first win of the conference after a 0-3 start — marred by back-to-back 30-point losses to Converge and NLEX, respectively — and they’d definitely want to build a streak for the first time since the Season 50 Philippine Cup.
During its first conference, Titan Ultra won two straight late in the eliminations by beating the Dyip (111-108) and Phoenix (127-119). However, those weren’t enough to resuscitate its playoff hopes, ultimately bowing out with a 4-7 record.
Now, Coach Rensy Bajar & Co. have the opportunity to repeat that should they take care of business against the Giant Pandas, who are the only winless team — not only in Group A but in the rest of the tourney with a 0-4 card.
The guest team did show some promise in their previous outing, when it nearly pulled off an upset against the Tropang 5G but ultimately fell short, 106-103, due to its failure to capitalize on chances in the endgame.
According to Casino Plus Sportsbook, Macau is a 1.75 favorite over Titan Ultra, which is priced at 2.07.
Bets can be placed here: https://www.casinoplus.com.ph/home/inGame?name=basketball&title=SportBet.
TNT, on the other hand, will look to pick itself up from its loss to the Giant Risers when the traditional contenders face Terrafirma at 7:30 PM.
Coach Chot Reyes and his men will be taking on a skidding Dyip, but they’re well aware of how dangerous their foes could be — they did lose their last three games, yes, but not before giving their opponents a major scare.
In fact, they’ve lost by just an average margin of 2.6 points in this slide, and came close to taking the scalp of San Miguel last week.
Juami Tiongson dealt a haymaker to his ex-team by nailing a triple in transition for the 104-101 lead with 1:21 remaining from down 22. But the squad couldn’t maintain their advantage, as George King took over to save the Beermen.
Given their last two outings, the Tropa have every reason to be wary of a team that has also handed them some losses during the last two seasons.
TNT is the favorite according to Casino Plus sportsbook as it is pegged as a -5.0 favorite. The over/under is set at 213.5.
