Titan Ultra stuns TNT for first PBA Governors’ Cup win

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

That wasn’t a drill. It happened.

In one of the most surprising upsets of the ongoing PBA Governors’ Cup, the Titan Ultra Giant Risers kept their promise to end their winless streak by shocking the defending champion TNT Tropang 5G, 103-87, on July 22, 2026, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

With the much-needed victory, the Giant Risers finally scored their first win in the import-laced conference while ending a 10-game losing slump dating to the last PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

The rejuvenated Titan Ultra needed a collective effort to take down the reigning Governors’ Cup champions, bolstered by the two-way brilliance of import Tirrell Brown, who was unstoppable in the paint.

After a dogfight in the first half, the Giant Risers finally pulled away in the third quarter, courtesy of Brown’s dominance in the shaded lane, backed by the locals’ efficient 3-point shooting.

Titan Ultra gained momentum after closing out the first half with a 10-2 run for a 10-point cushion and ramped things up in the third quarter to increase its lead to as many as 22 points.

As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The Giant Risers didn’t make any fancy adjustments to suck the life out of the Tropang 5G and simply followed basketball’s ultimate philosophy by sticking with what was working in the game.

When the second half began, Titan Ultra simply dumped the ball to Brown, and when TNT deployed double-teams at the seven-minute mark, the superstar import played the kick-out game and found his wide-open shooters.

That one-two pattern was enough to disrupt TNT’s rhythm, as the MVP-backed team failed to trim its deficit to single digits before the final buzzer sounded.

TNT head coach Chot Reyes attempted to slow Titan Ultra’s paint-oriented game by switching to a pack-line man-to-man defense, but that scheme also failed as the Tropang 5G went cold from the field throughout the fourth quarter.

Brown continued to put up dominant numbers since donning the Titan Ultra jersey, delivering 29 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists, while Joshua Munzon and Jerrick Balanza added 13 points apiece.

The struggling Tropang 5G, meanwhile, received 21 points from import Darius Days, 11 from Kim Aurin, and 10 from veteran shooting guard RR Pogoy.

The Giant Risers will look to sustain their momentum against guest team Macau Giant Pandas on July 25, 2026, while TNT will seek to rebound against the Terrafirma Dyip on the same date.