Winning didn’t have to come that long for Terrafirma as the Dyip pulled off a shocking 96-88 victory over tournament favorite Meralco in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup Saturday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Just when the Bolts appeared to have recovered their bearings following a disappointing 10th place finish in the Commissioner’s Cup, the team ran smacked against a Dyip team that came out with a nothing-to-lose mentality.
Juami Tiongson caught fire in the second half, hitting 13 of his 30 points in the fourth period, but the Dyip had to weather a late rally by the Bolts and continued to fight for possessions to repulse the uprising and held on to a tough victory.
Tiongson’s 30-point output was his second-best production in the league.
The Dyip won the 50-50 balls and able to get extra three possessions in the crucial stretch as didn’t only endure the Bolts 10-0 run, but also delivered the insurance basket, an Eric Camson putback in the last 26 seconds of the match that gave Terrafirma enough cushion, 92-84.
Camson was also a key contributor, ending up with a double-double performance of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
For the Bolts, it was a disappointing outcome after winning their first two games. They had a chance to wrest the solo lead with a Dyip victory, but coach Johnedel Cardel and his troops were determined to take this one to make it to the win column.
In the first two conferences this season, the Dyip could only win once in 23 games, but only in their second game in the season-ending tournament, Terrafirma was able to barge into the win column.
Terrafirma’s victory was meaningful for Cardel, who finally won a game against Meralco in an import-spiked tournament.
The last time the Dyip won over the Bolts in an import-laced conference was in the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup, when the team was still known as Mahindra Enforcer.
But Cardel was not concerned about the losing skid, but more focused on getting the win.
“If I need to slap them just to wake them up, then I have to do it. Of course, I didn’t slap them,” said Cardel in jest.
The Scores:
TERRAFIRMA (96) — Tiongson 30, Williams 29, Camson 13, Cabagnot 8, Ferrer 5, Calvo 4, Alolino 3, Cahilig 2, Gabayni 2, Ramos 0, Gomez de Liano 0, Mina 0.
MERALCO (88) — McDaniels 29, Newsome 13, Black 12, Maliksi 11, Quinto 9, Hodge 6, Banchero 6, Jose 2, Almazan 0.
QUARTERS: 24-26, 52-50, 72-65, 96-88.
