The Terrafirma Dyip came into Friday’s showdown with the NLEX Road Warriors as losers four times over. It didn’t matter as the Dyip authored a 114-109 shocker over the erstwhile unbeaten Road Warriors in one of the big upsets of the PBA Governors’ Cup.
And, for Terrafirma, it all began with moving on. In the Dyip’s four losses prior to Friday’s win over NLEX, they were very much in the game down the stretch. In fact, three of those four losses—101-100 vs. NLEX, 105-103 vs. the Converge FiberXers, and 96-92 vs. the Macau Giant Pandas—were one-possession games, and each could’ve easily ended in favor of Terrafirma.
“All of our games, medyo duluhan,” Terrafirma coach Ronald Tubid pointed out postgame. “We keep on [telling our players] na if we compete, may chance talaga manalo. Kumbaga ‘yung sayang, wala na ‘yun, tapos na ‘yun. Dito, matchup-wise, we can matchup with NLEX. We got lucky na lahat ng gusto naming gawin, nagawa namin.”
Terrafirma Pulls Through—Finally
The Dyip certainly matched up quite well against NLEX on Friday, with Juami Tiongson and Maverick Ahanmisi, in particular, playing the explosive Road Warriors backcourt of Schonny Winston and Robert Bolick, and import Justin Strings holding his own against DeQuan Jones. Geo Chiu also held it down in the paint against the NLEX frontcourt.
Tiongson and Ahanmisi combined for 36 points—the same outputs of Winston and Bolick—and also made big plays in regulation, while Strings outscored Jones 28 to 19 in a battle of two of this conference’s best imports. Chiu meanwhile, added 8 points and 12 rebounds and made two key baskets in regulation.
Brent Paraiso also helped out, sparking Terrafirma with 18 points off the bench, including 7 coming down the stretch. Paraiso’s late-game spurt capped a sterling second half from the Dyip that saw them score 26 each in the third and fourth quarter while holding the usually prolific NLEX offense to just 44 in the final 24 minutes of play.
“We played our hearts out,” Tubid added, “especially on defense.”
Terrafirma certainly did—and they avoided what would’ve been another “sayang.”
