Terrafirma stuns TNT, averts winless campaign

MANILA, Philippines —  Terrafirma caught a big fish on the way out of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Winless in 11 games, the Dyip ambushed the erstwhile red-hot TNT Tropang Giga with a massive 117-108 stunner to end their campaign in flying colors yesterday at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City.

Terrafirma rode on a blistering second-quarter run to erect an 11-point halftime separation before finally pulling away in the third period to snap the six-game spree of the Tropang Giga. The loss bumped them out of pole position and hurt their twice-to-beat bid.

Rookie Mark Nonoy stood at the forefront of Terrafirma’s tall stand with a career-high of 33 points with five treys and two four-point conversions laced by four rebounds, four assists and a steal in only 23 minutes of action.

Import Brandon Walton-Edwards also feasted inside with 19 points and 12 rebounds plus six assists and a steal as the Dyip salvaged a lone but big win to finish at 1-11 on the way to elimination.

Louie Sangalang (16), Aljun Melecio (10) and Kemark Cariño (10), Kevin Ferrer (9), Stanley Pringle (8) and Paolo Hernandez (6) provided ample contributions as Terrafirma gifted new coach Raymond Tiongco his breakthrough PBA win.

“Pinagkatiwalaan ko lang sila. Alam naman nila ‘yung strengths nila. We made our shots kaya maganda nilaro namin. We just caught TNT off guard. Natapatan namin ‘yung run nila,” said Tiongco.

Later, Barangay Ginebra (7-4) clinched a playoff seat and rejoined a multi-team race to the Top Two for a twice-to-beat advantage with a 120-92 domination of Rain or Shine (6-4).

“Sobrang thankful kay God. Masaya kasi at least maganda ‘yung dadalhin namin sa All-Filipino conference.”

Terrafirma, then with a 0-8 slate, also got its lone win in last year’s Governors’ Cup against TNT – which eventually emerged as champions – before taking a 12-game losing streak bridging the ongoing mid-season tourney.

And it’s the same story all over again with Terrafirma shoving it down on TNT with back-to-back explosions in the middle quarters.