WITH gunner Juami Tiongson getting ample help not only from import Thomas De Thaey, Terrafirma notched a breakthrough victory against a suddenly fading Blackwater side last night.
Bolstered by a fiery start and a sustained charge, the Dyip humbled the Bossing 97-87 for their first win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Tiongson uncorked a game-high 25 points that he laced with three rebounds and eight assists while Javi Gomez de Liaño added 17 markers and five boards.
De Thaey added a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, on top of two dimes, while rookie big man Kemark Cariño had 10 and nine as the Dyip recovered from a 103-108 loss to NorthPort six days back and improved to 1-1.
Blackwater absorbed its second straight defeat, counting an 84-91 setback at the hands of Meralco last Saturday and fell to 1-2 early in the season-opening tilt.
Aside from team effort, Terrafirma coach Johnedel Cardel was pleased with how his charges took to heart the lessons they learned against NorthPort.
“Iyong last game namin against NorthPort was a learning experience. We led by 10 points, but our players relaxed and did not follow the instructions of the coaches and we backed down on defense,” Cardel said. “This time, we led again by 10 points and sinabi ko sa kanila na it’s déjí vu in the first half. The third and four quarters were important for us.
“We needed to stay focused on what we did right in the first half. We had to play defense and get the rebounds. It was a team effort. Some guys had not that many minutes but ipinasok sila, they made a positive impact,” he added.
Banking on the likes of Tiongson, De Thaey, and Gomez de Liaño, the Dyip raced to a 50-40 edge at the break.
Down but not out, the Bossing whittled the deficit and made it a 64-69 game heading into the final stanza.
A Mike DiGregorio triple pulled Blackwater to within 73-77 with 9:21 remaining but Terrafirma countered with a 16-7 run that gave the Dyip their biggest lead at 93-80 in the final 2:35.
Mike Ayonayon shot 16 points for the Bossing, while reinforcement Chris Ortiz could only muster 15 markers although he did have 11 caroms and six feeds.
Rey Suerte, DiGregorio, and Troy Rosario also had 13, 11, and 10 points, respectively, for Blackwater.
