End of a slump
ANTIPOLO—Ramon Cao has experienced both winning and losing in the two years he’s been playing in the PBA as part of guest teams competing in the country’s premier professional league.
His second tour of duty in the Philippines has been a challenging one, with the Macau Giant Pandas enduring one defeat after another in the Governors’ Cup.
“We’re just trying to learn as we go, to be honest,” said Cao, whose team finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel with a breakthrough win on Saturday, a 132-126 comeback over the Titan Ultra Giant Risers at Ynares Center here.
The Giant Pandas erased a 19-point deficit behind Cao’s 27 points and 13 rebounds, import De’Vondre Perry’s 32 points and 22 rebounds, and 22 points from the returning Jenning Leung.
Macau snapped out of a 0-4 start marred by three blowout defeats that left people wondering if it was the right call to bring the team back for another conference.
It can be recalled that Macau, then known as the Black Knights, lost its first seven games in the Commissioner’s Cup with ex-Magnolia and NLEX import Tony Mitchell as reinforcement before ending up with a 3-9 record after a late surge.
The Macau sojourn is a complete contrast from the time Cao made his PBA debut last season as part of Hong Kong-based Eastern’s participation in the Commissioner’s Cup.
Eastern had a 7-5 record in the eliminations before being shown the door by eventual champion TNT in the quarterfinals.
Tied at bottom
“We’re a new team, compared to the last conference where we changed the roster up as well,” Cao said. “So it’s just adjusting on the fly and just trying to figure it out, whatever it takes.”
Titan Ultra was left to equal its win-loss record with Macau at 1-4 for a share of the bottom spot in Group A after blowing a 70-51 lead.
Meanwhile, two marquee games are on tap on Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum, with NLEX and San Miguel Beer battling for the top of the leaderboard in Group A.
Both NLEX and San Miguel hold identical 3-0 slates, as Road Warriors coach Jimmy Alapag tries to outclass the loaded Beermen squad powered by import George King and June Mar Fajardo.
Tipoff is set at 5:15 p.m. before Group B sides Barangay Ginebra and Rain or Shine square off at 7:30 p.m. in their first meeting since the Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
Ginebra goes into the contest coming off a 115-85 rout of Blackwater on Friday, with eight players scoring in double figures, including import Riley Grigsby, who had 18 points.
Grigsby also had eight rebounds, five assists and two steals for the Gin Kings in the lopsided triumph.
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