The Titan Ultra Giant Risers and Terrafirma Dyip faced off on Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo to open up another PBA Philippine Cup double-header. It was a battle between two of the four teams down at the cellar who were looking to keep their playoffs alive, and in the end, it was the Giant Risers who did just that with a 111-108 victory over the Dyip to improve to 3-6. Terrafirma, meanwhile, dropped to 1-7.
What Happened?
Terrafirma continued with its trend of starting strong, racing out to a 30-20 lead after the first quarter and building as much as a 15-point lead. But Titan Ultra slowly chipped away at that Dyip advantage, first cutting it to five going into intermission, 54-49, and then reducing it further to 81-77 heading into the fourth. But the Dyip were still ahead, 100-91, at the halfway mark of the final canto before Titan Ultra unleashed a massive 20-8 windup, taking the lead finally at 107-106 and holding steady until the end.
Who Stood Out?
Calvin Abueva continued what has been an MVP-caliber season for Titan Ultra, finishing with a 20-point, 15-rebound double-double spiked with 7 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocks. He also hit the go-ahead floater down the stretch to pull the Giant Risers ahead. Helping out The Beast was Joshua Munzon, who added 21 markers, and Fran Yu, who came off the bench to fire 15 points and dish off 11 dimes.
Jerrick Ahanmisi, meanwhile, continued his breakout season with another strong outing, firing 20 points for Terrafirma on top of 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Mark Nonoy returned for the Dyip with 18 markers on top of 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
3 Keys to the Game
- Paint dominance. Titan Ultra, as in previous games, was in attack mode all game long, with Abueva, Munzon, and even Yu getting into the heart of Terrafirma’s defense time and again. The result was a massive 56-36 advantage in points in the paint.
- Free throw shooting. Another by-product of Titan Ultra’s relentless attacking was a 40-20 advantage in free throw attempts. With such a stark difference, the Giant Risers were able to outscore the Dyip by 14 even though the former made only 27 of their attempts, in contrast to Terrafirma making 13.
- Endgame poise. For a team that has lost at least a couple of games after sputtering down the stretch, Titan Ultra displayed some poise in the endgame for a change. That composure allowed Abueva and company to make all the big plays with the game on the line.
Next Up for the PBA
PBA Philippine Cup action continues later today, this time at the Ynares Center in Montalban, with two games all featuring teams battling for those top four seeds: Magnolia Hotshots, NLEX Road Warriors, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, and Converge FiberXers. Magnolia takes on NLEX to open hostilities, followed by Rain or Shine testing the mettle of Converge.
Magnolia vs. NLEX (5:15 p.m.)
Rain or Shine vs. Converge (7:30 p.m.)
