Terrafirma denied Blackwater a chance to end its historic skid at its expense as it fought back and took the 109-103 victory to resume its 2022 PBA Governors’ Cup on a rousing note, Saturday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Antonio Hester turned in a stellar outing with 41 points and 13 rebounds as he led the Dyip’s telling 18-0 blitz to erase the 12-point lead by the Bossing — and eventually bag home their second win of the conference.
The American sparked the run with a three-point play and the locals went on to help him out, especially Joshua Munzon, who scored five straight to cap off the rousing rally to give their side a 102-96 lead with 1:31 left to play.
The Bossing still threatened afterward but could only do so much, as Terrafirma could no longer be stopped on their way to ending their three-game slide to improve to 2-4 in the standings.
“We’re just lucky to get this win,” said coah Johnedel Cardel. “The boys wanted to win, the coaching staff worked hard for this game after the two weeks of scrimmage na binigyan tayo ng government. We made the most out of it.”
Andreas Cahilig, who recently signed a fresh two-year extension, made his presence felt as well with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Munzon had 13 points, four rebounds, two steals, and an assist in his first game back since July of last year. Juami Tiongson fell just a rebound short of a double-double as he supplied 12 markers and nine boards.
It was definitely a great way for the team to start the resumption after losing Matt Ganuelas-Rosser and Roosevelt Adams to free agency.
“Even though in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter, they were leading by 10 points, the guys still kept their heads up,” Cardel said. “I told them, ‘There’s still a lot of time.’ We can win if we do good in the last five minutes.”
The Dyip not only handed Blackwater its 25th consecutive loss, but it also spoiled the debut of import Shawn Glover and Rey Suerte.
Glover finished with 35 points, including the jumper that gave his side the 96084 lead with 5:25 left before Hester and Co. woke up. He shot 50-percent from the field and grabbed 17 rebounds in over 40 minutes of play.
Suerte, on the other hand, made 16 points off the bench, on top of six rebounds, three assists, and a steal in over 21 minutes.
“I told them and I always talk to Hess that this is not a weak team, this Blackwater. They’re finding their first win,” said Cardel.
Baser Amer had 13 points, Rashawn McCarthy made 12, and Barkley Ebona added 10 markers for the Bossing, who dropped to 0-6 in the tilt.
Terrafirma will battle Alaska next on February 19 at 4:00 p.m., a day after Blackwater takes on NLEX at 3:00 p.m.
The Scores
Terrafirma 109 – Hester 41, Cahilig 17, Munzon 13, Tiongson 12, Ramos 9, Calvo 6, Daquioag 5, Batiller 4, Camson 2, Go 0, Pascual 0.
Blackwater 103 – Glover 35, Suerte 16, Amer 13, McCarthy 12, Ebona 10, Washington 6, Casio 6, Amboludto 4, Ayonayon 1, Melton 0, Paras 0, Escoto 0.
Quarterscores: 23-24, 52-54, 74-83, 109-103.
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