Underdogs Dyip, Bossing start rising
‘We already have two wins, but I told them that every game we should win.’
JUAMI Tiongson and the Terrafirma Dyip are making heads turn in the early stretch of the PBA Philippine Cup. | PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF PBA
Terrafirma and Blackwater are making a lot of heads turn after posting two straight wins to occupy the top spot in the early stretch of the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
The Dyip, who have yet to make a semifinal since joining as an expansion team in 2014, pulled off a shocker when they posted a 107-99 win over Converge last Friday followed by a 99-95 win over NLEX last Sunday to post a rare 2-0 start in the all-Filipino conference.
Juami Tiongson has been delivering a solid performance, firing 30 points against the FiberXers and 21 markers the Road Warriors to tow the Dyip to their first 2-0 start in franchise history since the 2016 Governors' Cup when they were still known as the Mahindra Enforcers.
Despite their strong start, Dyip coach Johnedel Cardel is tempering expectations, saying that the battle is still far from over.
"We already have two wins, but I told them that every game we should win," said Cardel, whose wards already matched the number of wins they had in the previous Commissioner's Cup.
"We don't want to think that we already have two wins already because we don't want them to relax."
Also turning doubters into believers are the Bossing.
After a busy off-season in which they landed veterans James Yap, Rey Nambatac, Jaydee Tungcab and Justin Chua, the Bossing displayed sings of life after beating Meralco, 96-93, last Friday and TNT Tropang Giga, 87-76, last Saturday to emerge on top of the team standings.
Nambatac, a former Rain or Shine star who fell out of the rotation of coach Yeng Guiao to give way for the young guns, proved that he's worth it firing 27 points and 10 assists against the Bolts before suffering an ankle injury in the opening period of their encounter against the Tropang Giga.
With Nambatac out, Troy Rosario and RK Ilagan stepped up, firing 20 and 15 points respectively, to underscore the balanced offensive assault and chemistry of the emerging Bossing squad.
But Bossing coach Jeffrey Cariaso believes that they have to be at their best, especially when they face heavyweights San Miguel Beer, Barangay Ginebra and Magnolia.