Three games into the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup, the Titan Ultra Giant Risers have gotten a glimpse of the ups and downs of being the new kid on the block. 

The Giant Risers made quite the introduction when they upended the Meralco Bolts in their Philipine Cup opener. Calvin Abueva had a career game to lead the way for Titan Ultra, who relied on their veterans to get their maiden victory. 

However, life hit the Giant Risers hard as they suffered consecutive losses to the Converge FiberXers and the Magnolia Hotshots. 

The loss to the Hotshots, in particular, was a brutal one not so much with the score, but more with how they were outplayed from the paint and the perimeter. Magnolia’s height and skill advantage were on full display as they found ways to confound Titan Ultra’s defense and despite their best efforts, the Giant Risers could not keep up. 

There are areas for concern with Titan Ultra, especially when it comes to their personnel. The Hotshots exposed their lack of size, but also the need for more consistency when it comes to cohesion. The latter could be fixed when the the Giant Risers get more games under their belt, but the former is a larger issue, especially if they can’t shake off the allegations of being a farm team. 

Titan Ultra will have to work towards putting more continuity and stability within the roster. Joshua Munzon is already their most tenured player, but his surroundings have pretty much been a revolving door of players and coaching staff. The hope is that he and Abueva can take the lead for the Giant Risers, although the latter is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury. Once he is healthy, though, it’s safe to say he will be maximizing the opportunities Titan Ultra will hand to him. 

There’s still a ton of basketball left to be played in this year’s Philippine Cup and in PBA Season 50 as a whole for the Giant Risers to get their footing. Titan Ultra is still an unknown commodity apart from being viewed as the remnants of the NorthPort Batang Pier, but the players themselves know they’re only as good as their last campaigns. Many of the players on their roster are known to be solid scorers and they will likely earn victories when games become shootouts. That was something that defined the Batang Pier when they were the top seed during the 2024-25 Honda PBA Commissioner’s Cup, a run that unfortunately ended up with a whimper. 

And now, the Titan Ultra Giant Risers are out to make a name for themselves. They’ve certainly showed that they can catch teams by surprise, but they have to build on the opportunities, lest they want to revert to old habits and long-held reputations that kept their predecessors from making a mark in the PBA.