ANTIPOLO — Terrafirma continued Blackwater’s woes, 97-87, for its first win of the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup Wednesday night at the Ynares Center here.
Juami Tiongson and Javi Gomez de Liano led the way as the Dyip displayed much better fourth-quarter resolve this time around.
They showed how much they have learned from that sorry loss to NorthPort in their season debut.
“‘Yung last game namin versus NorthPort, it was a lesson learned,” said head coach Johnedel Cardel. “We led by 10 points but they relaxed, they didn’t follow the instructions of the coaches and we didn’t run back on defense.”
“This time we led again by 10 points, so sinabi ko na sa kanila ‘yun. Deja vu, sabi ko, nung first half. This third and fourth quarters are important, kaya kailangan we stay focused on what we did in the first half,” he added.
Tiongson finished with 25 points, including 16 in the first half to help his side establish a 50-40 lead entering the break. The veteran guard shot 47-percent from the floor and also collected three rebounds and seven assists.
Gomez de Liano, on the other hand, was once again the spark off the bench. He came through with 17 points, three boards, five dimes, and a steal.
The two were key in fending off the Bossing in the final frame. As the latter got to within six with under eight minutes to go, Tiongson scored off a pull-up.
Gomez de Liano then drained a triple to give themselves the 86-75 lead.
Terrafirma would stay ahead the rest of the way, with Thomas de Thaey and Stephen Holt providing the finishing touches to secure the W.
De Thaey overcame shooting woes – he was only 6-of-14 from the floor – and went on to finish with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Kemark Carino made his presence felt as well in the win, nailing a pair of triples on the way to 10 points. The rookie also had nine rebounds and three blocks.
Terrafirma (1-1) will look to follow up its latest victory with another against NLEX on Saturday, November 18, 3:00 PM, at the same venue.
Blackwater, on the other hand, was led by the 16 points of Mike Ayonayon in the loss — the team’s second in a row after a successful opener versus Converge.
Import Chris Ortiz was held to only 15 points on 16 shots, alongside 11 rebounds and six assists. Rey Suerte supplied 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the floor.
Mike DiGregorio made 11 points while Troy Rosario added 10 for a Bossing side that missed Baser Amer, RK Ilagan, and James Sena.
Blackwater (1-2) will try to arrest its skid immediately against Phoenix on November 24, Friday, 4:00 PM at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
Terrafirma 97 – Tiongson 25, Gomez de Liano 17, De Thaey 15, Carino 10, Camson 7, Holt 7, Ramos 4, Cahilig 3, Alolino 3, Calvo 3, Daquioag 3, Olivario 0, Go 0, Miller 0, Mina 0.
Blackwater 87 – Ayonayon 16, Ortiz 15, Suerte 13, DiGregorio 11, Rosario 10, Casio 6, David 5, McCarthy 4, Hill 3, Guinto 2, Ular 2, Escoto 0, Banal 0.
Quarterscores: 24-22, 50-40, 69-64, 97-87.
