Nothing-to-lose Dyip shock Tropang Giga

MANILA, Philippines -- The already-ran Terrafirma Dyip came from nine points down in the fourth quarter and stunned the defending champions TNT Tropang Giga, 84-72, in the PBA Governors' Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila on Thursday.

It was the first win of Terrafirma in the PBA Governors’ Cup, and it could not have come in a more massive way possible, as it stopped a five-game winning streak of the league-leading TNT squad.

Antonio Hester powered Terrafirma with 22 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocks. But it was Stanley Pringle who provided the spark in the fourth quarter, finishing with18 points, five rebounds and two assists.

The Tropang Giga led by nine, 59-50, at the start of the fourth quarter after a layup by Poy Erram.

A 10-0 run led by Hester and Pringle turned things around, as it gave the Dyip a one-point lead, 60-59, with 9:21 remaining.

A Kelly Williams jumper halted the run, but Hester took the lead back with a deuce of his own.

Paolo Hernandez and Pringle then started to heat up, as Terrafirma led by seven points, 75-68, with 3:56 remaining after the latter hit a pair of free throws.

A pair of freebies by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson cut the lead to five, but Pringle just kept on coming.

With the Dyip leading by nine, 79-70 with less than a minute remaining, TNT’s Brian Heruela missed a jumper of his own.

Aldrech Ramos then sank the go-ahead dagger 3-pointer to push the lead to 12, 82-70 -- the biggest of the game -- with 34 seconds to go.

Louie Sangalang backstopped with 10 points in 14 minutes for Terrafirma.

Hollis-Jefferson flirted with a triple-double in the losing effort, finishing with 25 points, 11 rebounds and nine steals. He also had two assists and a block.

RR Pogoy added 23 points, but the two were the only bright spots for the Tropang Giga.

The next leading scorer was Calvin Oftana, who had five markers and five boards. Erram added four, while Rey Nambatac, CJ Payawal and Paul Varilla had three apiece.

The loss, though, did not affect TNT’s place on top of Group A as they fell to 7-2. Terrafirma rose to 1-8.