ANTIPOLO – Macau finally broke into the win column in resilient fashion, erasing a 19-point deficit to rally against Titan Ultra, 132-126, on Saturday in the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Center.
Jenning Leung made his PBA comeback by rescuing the Giant Pandas with his outside shots from threes and fours to snatch a win in their fifth game of the conference.
It was a repeat of last conference where the then-Black Knights came away with its first win at the expense of Titan Ultra in the Commissioner’s Cup.
De’Vondre Perry had 32 points and 22 rebounds, and Ramon Cao had 28 points and 13 rebounds for the Giant Pandas, but it was Leung who stole the show after chipping 22 points and shooting 4-of-11 from threes.
A 44-27 third quarter sparked the Macau rally with Leung scoring eight including a three to end the period with a 95-94 lead.
Leung drained his lone four of the game with 7:58 left for a 109-103 lead, and Perry got Macau to its biggest lead of the game at 116-108, enough to secure its maiden victory.
“First game, blow out, we got blown out in the first half, but we really had few days to practice. No excuses. But I think our scores showed we got better and better by each game, and we still felt we were in a position to win,” Macau coach Marcus Elliott said.
Macau trailed, 30-11, in the first quarter but slowly got into form with the help of Leung.
“Jenning is a team player, always have a great attitude. He was being too passive in the first half. He came in and didn’t want to step into any toes. I basically told him to stop being too nice,” Elliot said.
The loss spoiled a career-night for Fran Yu, who dished out a personal PBA best and franchise-high 14 assists. It also tied a season best made by NLEX’s Robert Bolick during a game against Phoenix Super LPG on April 5, according to league’s statistics chief Fidel Mangonon.
The scores:
Macau 132 – Perry 32, Cao 28, Leung 22, Chongqui 19, Lam 19, Ma 10, Liu 2, Chao 0, Lu 0.
Titan Ultra 126 – Brown 30, Munzon 19, Yu 17, Balanza 14, Javillonar 12, Ular 10, Sajonia 8, Dionisio 5, Pessumal 5, Sumang 2, Omega 2, Caralipio 2.
Quarters: 19-35; 51-67; 95-94; 132-126.
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