The bar may be low for the Terrafirma Dyip, but head coach Ronald Tubid is still hoping his team-first philosophy will translate to wins. And he is counting on a returning member of the franchise—Juami Tiongson—to lead the way.
Tiongson, who played for Terrafirma from 2019 to 2024 before getting traded to the San Miguel Beermen two seasons ago, is back with the franchise where he’s had the most individual success. The price for Tiongson, though, was steep, as the Dyip had to give up their two leading scorers, Jerrick Ahanmisi and Paolo Hernandez, for the former Ateneo Blue Eagle and rookie Chris Miller.
Tubid Counting on Juami Tiongson Bounce Back
In two seasons or so with San Miguel, Tiongson’s production noticeably dipped as he hardly saw action. In fact, in the past PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Tiongson averaged just 13.9 minutes a game and put up 2.3 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. In contrast, Ahanmisi averaged 21.3 points per game and was the leading scorer of the midseason tourney.
But while the stats say Terrafirma got the raw end of that deal with the Beermen, Tubid believes otherwise, pointing out rather confidently that Tiongson can bring that same kind of production for the Dyip—something he did in his early years with the franchise.
“Si Jerrick and Paolo nasa 30-plus points combined iyon. Pero [si] Juami kaya iyon,” Tubid told the PBA. “‘Yung nawala niya sa SMB, kasi nga iba sistema doon, kaya niyang ibalik. Happy kami kay Juami, proven scorer talaga iyon.”
Tubid might be on to something. In his last full conference with Terrafirma, Juami Tiongson put up 20.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. The season before that, he averaged 18.1 points in 31 games.
Team Effort Is Needed
But even with a Juami Tiongson resurgence, Tubid knows all too well that a one-man show won’t cut it for the Dyip. And that is why he is imploring his players to go all-in on his team-first mantra.
“Tulad pa rin ng dati pa naming battle cry. Kailangan whatever we do, within the concept of the team,” Tubid stressed. “Hindi p’wedeng madiskaril kami sa itinatakbo ng team, offense and defense. We need to realize kung ano strengths ng team. Different kami sa ibang teams. Sila may pupuntahan agad samantalang kami kailangan iikot [ang bola].”
Again, Tubid is right. Juami Tiongson can’t do it alone. But with the help of holdovers like Geo Chiu and JM Bravo, maybe he can help drive the Dyip to a win here and there.
