Titan Ultra goes hard in PBA debut

Games tomorrow:

(Ynares Center-Montalban)

5:15 p.m. — Terrafirma vs Blackwater

7:30 p.m. — Phoenix vs TNT

Newcomer Titan Ultra unleashed the beast in Calvin Abueva.

Abueva turned back the hands of time with a vintage performance in the Giant Risers’ rousing 100-96 debut win over Meralco in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

The veteran forward reintroduced himself with a career-best 41 points but his biggest highlight of the night was his fearless hustle in the last 15.8 seconds when he dove to retrieve the loose ball off a missed free throw by Titan Ultra rookie Chris Koon.

His heroics allowed Joshua Munzon to nail two insurance foul shots as the Giant Risers averted a meltdown after squandering a 19-point lead.

“My energy came from my teammates. If not for them I won’t be able to score. They’ve given their trust in me. But then again, 41 points for a 37-year-old, I feel young again,” Abueva quipped.

The second overall pick in the 2012 Draft shot 14-of-27 from the field, including 4-of-7 triples, and grabbed seven rebounds for the Giant Risers. He scored 16 of his points in the third period.

Abueva gave Titan Ultra its biggest lead at 90-71 off trey in the last 6:50 of the game.

The Bolts poured a 24-8 run capped by a four-pointer by CJ Cansino to breathe down the Giant Risers’ necks, 98-95, with 17.5 seconds left.

Koon was sent to the line but bricked both his shots as Abueva got the ball back following a scramble off the rookie’s second miss.

Cansino was sent to the foul line after Munzon’s free throw in the last 1.7 seconds. He made his first and intentionally missed his second and Meralco got the ball to Chris Banchero who made a four-point attempt that just hit the base of the ring at the buzzer.

“This is a new team. We only have a handful of veterans. We’re just doing our part to contribute to the game. We gave our 100 percent on our defense so that we’ll get our offense going,” Abueva said.

Munzon finished with 14 points while Cade Flores had 10 for Titan Ultra.