ANTIPOLO — Titan Ultra finally broke its harrowing winless spell in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup by taking the scalp of no less than the defending conference champions in TNT, 103-87, at the Ynares Center here Wednesday.
After getting blown out by 30-plus in their last two outings, the Giant Risers turned the tables this time and beat a team in convincing fashion en route to ending what had been a 10-game losing skid dating back to the last conference.
The neophyte franchise ended the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup with seven straight losses, and then started poorly in the ongoing tourney with three consecutive defeats at the hands of Terrafirma, Converge, and NLEX.
(C) PBA Images
“After our loss against NLEX, kumbaga tinrabaho namin talaga no. 1 ‘yung defense. Transition defense, plus the rebounding,” said Coach Rejsy Bajar.
“Halos pinatakbo ko sila nang pinatakbo sa training, especially kung coming from the offensive rebound, talagang binibilang namin iyon. Siguro ngayon nag-commit ‘yung mga bata, mga players namin in our defense alone,” he added.
Tirrell Brown continued his fine play with 29 points and 10 rebounds plus five assists and three assists to lead Titan Ultra, which finally got on board in the seven-team Group A, being led by the Road Warriors with a 3-0 record.
Star guard Joshua Munzon—rumored to be traded to the Tropang 5G before the ongoing conference—and fellow wings Jerrick Balanza and Bryan Sajonia all made 13 points apiece, with Aris Dionisio adding 10 markers.
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The victory was Titan’s biggest winning margin so far in its three-conference existence in the PBA and marked the first time it beat the flagship MVP Group franchise, according to the league’s chief statistician, Fidel Mangonon III.
And that’s big thanks to their big second-quarter turnaround, in which they outscored the opposition, 31-17, for a 58-48 lead entering the break.
Soon, they’d break the game wide open in the ensuing frame, with Brown leading the charge to erect an 80-64 lead entering the last 12 minutes.
They’d push their lead to its highest at 22, 90-68, courtesy of a Dionisio trifecta from the corner with less than nine minutes remaining, shortly after TNT lost head coach Chot Reyes after incurring his second technical foul of the game.
Darius Days led the injury-plagued Tropa with 21 points in the loss as they fell to 1-1. Kim Aurin and Roger Pogoy backed him up with 11 and 10 points.
The Scores:
Titan Ultra 103 – Brown 29, Balanza 13, Sajonia 13, Munzon 13, Dionisio 10, Sumang 9, Javillonar 9, Yu 5, Ular 2, Ambohot 0, Pessumal 0, Omega 0, Amores 0, Caralipio 0, Cuntapay 0, Inigo 0.
TNT 87 – Days 21, Aurin 11, Pogoy 10, Heading 9, Jalalon 8, Galinato 6, Khobuntin 6, Nambatac 5, Quitevis 5, Ferrer 2, Celzo 2, Hill 2, Enciso 0, Varilla 0.
Quarterscores: 27-31, 58-48, 80-64, 103-87.
