Dyip catch last quarters ride

Terrafirma ended 16 straight conferences of futility with a hard-earned 104-96 win over NorthPort in the playoff for the eighth and last quarterfinals berth in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Juami Tiongson and Stephen Holt connived for the closing 6-0 salvo that pulled the Dyip through against a tough-fighting Batang Pier for the right to face top seed and twice-to-beat defending champion San Miguel Beer in the playoffs starting Saturday.

Terrafirma advanced to its first-ever all-Filipino conference quarterfinals and first stint in the playoffs since the 2016 Governors’ Cup under then playing coach Manny Pacquiao.

“We’re really lucky. I told them to prepare for the worst if we don’t get an outright seat in the next round. I told them to be ready for this knockout game,” Dyip coach Johnedel Cardel said clinching his first playoff stint as Terrafirma mentor.

Tiongson finished with 30 points on 11-of-21 field goal shooting while Holt, who is the frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year honor, got 18 markers nine assists and eight rebounds for the Dyip.

Javi Gomez de Liano added 21 points on 5-of-10 shooting clip including crucial consecutive jumper and trey that put Terrafirma ahead, 92-88, with 7:55 left. Isaac Go had 13 markers for the Dyip.

Tiongson completed a three-point play to extend Terrafirma’s lead to 101-96 after NorthPort closed in within two with 1:33 remaining.

Holt then iced it for Terrafirma, which kept Batang Pier’s top scoring option Arvin Tolentino scoreless in the fourth period, with a three-point play in the last 39.5 ticks for the final count.

It was a sorry loss for NorthPort, which also dropped a close call against Terrafirma in the elims on the same venue. The Batang Pier had a great start in their campaign where it strung four straight wins before struggling towards the end of the elims to fall in a playoff hole.   

Go hit a triple with six seconds left in the third period to give Terrafirma an 82-81 lead to enter the final canto on top.

With their respective campaigns on the line, the game turned into a seesaw battle in the first 24 minutes with no team leading by more than seven.

Tiongson poured 15 of his 18 points in the second quarter as the Dyip entered halftime with a 55-54 advantage.

Zav Lucero led NorthPort with 17 markers and six rebounds, Cade Flores got 16 markers, Joshua Munzon scored 15 while Tolentino struggled with 4-of-13 field goal shooting to finish with 13 points.

Box scores:

TERRAFIRMA (104) --- Tiongson 30, Gomez de Liano 21, Holt 18, Go 13, Ramos 7, Carino 7, Sangalang 4, Alolino 2, Calvo 2, Camson 0, Mina 0, Cahilig 0

NORTHPORT (96) --- Lucero 17, Flores 16, Munzon 15, Tolentino 13, Zamar 10, Navarro 9, Amores 7, Yu 4, Rosales 2, Cuntapay 2, Adamos 1, Bulanadi 0, Chan 0

Quarters: 27-33, 55-54, 82-81, 104-96