By REYNALD MAGALLON
ANTIPOLO – Calvin Abueva flexed his muscles after absorbing the contact and making the basket over Cliff Hodge.
The 37-year-old forward displayed a newfound tenacity and vigor, dropping a career-high 41 points to tow Titan Ultra past Meralco, 100-96 , for a rousing start to its PBA franchise and in the Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center here, Wednesday, Oct. 8.
Turning back the hands of time, Abueva provided the tip to the Giant Risers’ spears as they erected a sizable margin in the second half before doing just enough to keep the Bolts at bay.
Abueva, who had his best scoring night in nine years or since he posted 29 points for Alaska in a game against Globalport in 2016, added seven rebounds – none bigger than the one he had off Chris Koon free throw misses with 15 seconds left.
That offensive board translated to two more freebies from Joshua Munzon with 4.9 seconds left to slam the door on the comeback efforts of the Bolts.
Joshua Munzon complimented the impressive showing from Abueva with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists to go with two blocks and a steal. Cade Flores added 10 points while Fran Yu orchestrated the relentless transition attack of Titan Ultra with nine points and nine rebounds.
The Giant Risers actually had to shake off some first game jitters allowing the Bolts to race to an 11-0 start.
But when Titan Ultra got their bearings going, there was simply no looking back for the Giant Risers as they exploded for 31 in the third frame to establish the biggest lead of the contest at 19 points.
Meralco, though, refused to go down without a fight and even threatened Titan Ultra in the final frame, cutting the lead down to just three points, 95-98 after a CJ Cansino four.
That, however, proved to be Meralco’s last stand as Abueva and Munzon made sure to secure Titan Ultra’s first victory in the PBA.
Cansino paced Meralco with 22 points while Raymond Almazan and Bong Quinto chipped in 16 and 15 respectively in a losing cause.
