By REYNALD MAGALLON
Titan Ultra pulled off a stunning upset of a depleted TNT side, 103-87, to book its first win in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup and end a 10-game losing skid tracing back to the last conference at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Wednesday, July 22.
Tirell Brown led the charge for the Giant Risers, who actually had to buck a slow start before finally finding their groove in the middle quarters and kept the Tropang 5G at bay the rest of the way.
Brown finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Bryan Sajonia, Jerrick Balanza and Joshua Munzon provided ample support with 13 apiece.
The win was a breath of fresh air for Titan Ultra who hasn’t won a PBA game since April or when it defeated Blackwater, 102-98, in the Commissioner’s Cup.
The Giant Risers ended the mid-season conference on a seven-game slide and then opened the Governors’ Cup with three straight loses.
Titan Ultra finally barged into the win column and improved its record to a 1-3 slate while handing TNT its first taste of defeat for a 1-1 record
Still playing without key players Calvin Oftana, Jayson Castro, Brandon Ganuelas Rosser and Kelly Williams, the Tropang 5G struggled on both ends of the floor, much to the frustration of TNT head coach Chot Reyes, who was thrown out of the contest after getting tagged with a second technical foul early in the final frame.
CJ Perez and George King set the tone early and took turns the rest of the way as San Miguel sent the erstwhile undefeated Converge crashing back to earth with a 128-122 win.
Perez and King formed a lethal one-two punch, combining for 72 of the Beermen’s total output — including a scintillating start to the contest where the former had 12 and the latter had 11 to give SMB an early double-digit lead.
Converge did hold its ground after keeping themselves within striking distance for the most part but San Miguel’s firepower simply proved too much as they led by as many as 16 late in the final frame.
King dazzled with a conference-high of 41 points to go with 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals while Perez fired 31 points. The hot shooting of the two also rubbed off to Marcio Lassiter who rifled in three triples on his way to an 18-point showing.
Don Trollano chipped in 11 while June Mar Fajardo had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Beermen who remained spotless through three games.
SMB handed Converge its first taste of defeat as the FiberXers slid to a 3-1 slate.
Justin Arana came one point shy of once again breaking into the 30-point scoring barrier, finishing with 29 points while frontcourt partner Justine Baltazar had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
