Attack of titan
ANTIPOLO—Rensy Bajar acknowledged that San Miguel Beer may have still been dealing with a championship hangover as he notched his first win as a PBA coach.
“Since San Miguel is coming off a championship last conference, they’re probably still on Cloud 9. At the same time, maybe they didn’t take us seriously, so we had to take advantage of the opportunity,” Bajar said after Titan Ultra’s 119-112 upset in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at Ynares Center on Saturday.
Reeling from blowout losses to Terrafirma and Phoenix—both by at least 30 points—Titan Ultra responded with urgency, building a lead of as many as 21 points before fending off a late San Miguel rally
Regain pride
The Giant Risers finally entered the win column, giving Bajar his first victory after being tapped to call the shots in place of Johnedel Cardel.
“The motivation coming into this game was to regain some pride since we were totally outplayed in the last two games,” Bajar said.
Joshua Munzon scored 29 points, while import Michael Gilmore added 28 points and 13 rebounds. Fran Yu had 10 assists and nine points and Pao Javillonar and rookie Mark Omega combined to make June Mar Fajardo work for his touches as the Giant Risers pulled off the shock result.
That came after San Miguel had beaten Titan Ultra by 41 points in their lone meeting in the Philippine Cup.
The Beermen, however, looked far from the team that dominated the Philippine Cup in February, with Jericho Cruz and Chris Ross sidelined by injuries.
San Miguel also went all-Filipino for most of the second half, as import Marcus Lee was benched after tallying just four points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
“It’s a terrible performance,” said Beermen coach Leo Austria.
Meanwhile, the PBA handed down fines and suspensions to TNT’s Glenn Khobuntin and Rain or Shine import Jaylen Johnson hours before the doubleheader.
Fines, suspensions
Khobuntin received a two-game suspension and a P70,000 fine, while Johnson was slapped with a one-game ban after the two traded punches during Friday’s game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
PBA commissioner Willie Marcial summoned both players, who expressed remorse over the incident, particularly Khobuntin.
“He’s very regretful,” Marcial said of Khobuntin, adding that he was puzzled by what transpired, given that the TNT forward “has had a great career.”
Johnson, according to Marcial, also said he had no intention of challenging anyone to a fight and described himself as “a jolly person.”
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