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| Tirrell Brown delivered a masterful all-around game to help snap Titan Ultra's slump. Peter Baltazar |
CAPAS—Titan Ultra held on despite a fourth-quarter surge from Macau for a 132-128 win to start the second round of Group A in the PBA Governors' Cup group stages on Tuesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Needing a win to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive, the Giant Risers exploded early on and dropped 47 points in the first quarter before ending the first half with 80, plus a 20-point lead.
The Giant Pandas, however, slowly chipped away at the lead in the second half, and in the fourth quarter, they managed to come close to stealing the win when they cut the gap down to six, 130-124, with 1:27 left.
Macau eventually lost steam, even as Tirrell Brown scored a jumper to ice the game for Titan Ultra.
Brown finished with 36 points on 17 of 27 shooting, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and one steal to lead the Giant Risers, who snapped a two-game slide and tied their victims at 2-5.
Joshua Munzon added 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting, six rebounds, and five assists.
De'Vondre Perry led the Giant Pandas with 45 points on 16-for-27 shooting, 14 rebounds, one assist, three steals, and two blocks.
Ramon Cao added 24 points on 9-for-18 shooting, 12 rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
Jeffrey Ma and Damian Chongqui each put up 18 markers, with the former grabbing 10 boards.
Chongqui's last basket, a four-pointer, turned out to be crucial as they kept the tiebreaker edge over the Giant Risers with a plus-2 point differential despite splitting their conference series at one game apiece.
