On Wednesday, the Terrafirma Dyip were just one basket away from securing their second win in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
But both Aljon Mariano and Maverick Ahanmisi missed crucial late‑game attempts, preventing the Dyip from completing a remarkable comeback against the Converge FiberXers after erasing a 16‑point deficit in the fourth quarter. In the end, Converge hung on for a 105-103 victory to go to 2-0 and sent the Dyip to 1-2.
Tubid Urges Terrafirma to Avoid Playing Catch‑Up
After the game, head coach Ronald Tubid told reporters that his team must avoid constantly playing catch‑up, stressing how difficult it is to win after falling behind by a wide margin.
“Siguro same like last game, kailangan namin mag‑compete from first quarter hanggang fourth kasi second quarter natatambakan kami, then third quarter maghabol, so parang ang hirap,” Tubid said.
Tubid has a point. In Terrafirma’s previous outing against the NLEX Road Warriors, the Dyip also played catch-up and nearly erased a 23‑point deficit in the fourth quarter, only to fall short after import Justin Strings missed a potential game‑winning three‑pointer.
Flow of the Moment: Mariano’s Missed Basket
As Terrafirma mounted another late rally, this time against Converge, the Dyip regained possession with 35 seconds left after Justine Baltazar missed a four‑point attempt.
Trailing by just two points, veteran guard Juami Tiongson found a wide‑open Mariano under the basket. However, Mariano’s layup was blocked by Baltazar—a defensive stop that ultimately proved decisive.
When asked about the sequence, Tubid described it as simply “flow of the moment” and admitted Baltazar’s height advantage played a significant role.
“Flow of the moment ’yun at saka, what do you expect? Aljon is like 6’3‑6’2, then si Justine is like 6’7‑6’8, so nandoon na eh, libreng libre na, nahabol lang,” he said.
Unfortunately for Terrafirma, what could have been Mariano’s eighth point of the night would have tied the game and forced overtime.
Silver Lining: Competing With Stronger Teams
Perhaps the silver lining for the Dyip is that they have shown they can compete with some of the league’s stronger sides. Still, Tubid reiterated that relying on late rallies is not a sustainable formula for success.
“Much better siguro, sabi namin sa players, all we know is kaya naman namin to play our A Game every game, pero no need to wait for the third quarter para humabol kasi mahirap talaga, mahirap talaga maghabol,” he said.
Now sitting at 1‑2—a record that could easily have been 3‑0 had a few late possessions gone their way, Terrafirma will look to clean up its execution and avoid digging early holes when it faces the TNT Tropang 5G this Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
