Titan Ultra banks on second-half mastery to repel Blackwater

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The Titan Ultra Giant Risers recovered from a sloppy first half to frustrate the Blackwater Bossing, 97-86, during their PBA Philippine Cup showdown on Nov. 5, 2025, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

After a disoriented performance in the first two quarters, where they gave away numerous free layups due to turnovers, the Giant Risers rang the bell in the second half, paving the way for a more efficient two-way outing.

During their past four losses, Titan Ultra gave up an average of 118 total points to Rain or Shine, TNT, Magnolia, and Converge.

Facing a huge backlash on the defensive end, the Giant Risers proved that they could cover the gaps from their past mistakes and held Blackwater to its lowest-scoring performance of the season with just 86 points in four quarters.

All thanks to a wake-up call midway through the third, when Titan Ultra ran a rare 1-2-2 zone that completely disrupted Blackwater’s offensive flow the whole second half.

From that defensive brilliance, Titan Ultra’s flow of offensive schemes sweetly followed, led by Calvin Abueva, Joshua Munzon, and Fran Yu.

Titan Ultra showed flashbacks of their comeback win against Meralco during the opener, where they also played catch-up in the majority of the first half.

However, that simple defensive switch perked up Titan Ultra, which, on the other hand, slowed down Blackwater’s crisp ball movement.

As a result of the zone, Blackwater relied mostly on isolation plays from Sedrick Barefield and Dalph Panopio, with their drop passes along the baseline completely gone.

The Giant Risers officially left Blackwater in the dust at the start of the fourth when they built their largest lead of the ballgame to 15 points.

Blackwater attempted to mount a late-game rally after Panopio connected on some desperation treys, but Titan Ultra’s double-digit lead was a tough ladder to climb for the struggling Bossing.

Abueva turned back the hands of time and capped off the win with another vintage performance of 23 points, while Munzon chipped in 18 markers.

Yu, who sparked Titan Ultra’s three-point barrage late in the third, ended up with 14 points.