O ROMEO, ROMEO! — Terrence tows Terrafirma past Phoenix

Terrafirma weathered a scary fourth quarter storm by Phoenix to walk away with a 95-87 victory for a good start in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Friday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Terrence Romeo fueled the Dyip’s third quarter breakaway and rescued his team from collapse, hitting a clutch three-pointer to halt the Fuel Masters’ rally from 23 points down late in the final period.

Terrafirma pulled away in the third frame after outscoring Phoenix, 30-16, for a 20-point lead heading into the payoff canto.

“Actually, they were all committed to our defense. They did good. There were lapses, but we were able to adjust right away. Our guards were a big help to our bigs. We were able to run our rotation on defense,” Dyip head coach Raymund Tiongco.

Scoreless in the first half, Romeo scored 14 of his 17 points in the third canto as Terrafirma outscored Phoenix, 30-16, to build a comfortable 79-59 lead heading into the payoff period.

The Dyip extended their advantage to 89-66 after Louie Sangalang scored five straight points punctuated by a trey with 8:15 remaining, only for the Fuel Masters to mount a telling fightback.

Kai Ballungay led Phoenix’s uprising, accounting for 13 of his squad’s 13-0 run to close in, 89-79, with 3:06 left. Romeo stopped the bleeding with a triple with 2:42 left.

Ken Tuffin trimmed it to single-digit, 92-83, with 1:25 remaining, but the Fuel Masters’ counterattack came a little too late.

Sangalang had 21 points and eight rebounds while Stanley Pringle added 17 for the Dyip.

Phoenix’s first game curse extended to a fourth straight conference.

Ballungay finished with 30 points and grabbed 15 boards while Soyud was the only other Fuel Master in double figures with 11.

The scores:

TERRAFIRMA (95) — Sangalang 21, Pringle 17, Romeo 17, Hernandez 9, Catapusan 9, Melecio 8, Paraiso 6, Nonoy 4, Ramos 4, Zaldivar 0, Hanapi 0.

PHOENIX (87) — Ballungay 30, Soyud 11, Salado 9, Tio 9, Alejandro 6, Garcia 4, Camacho 4, Ricero 3, Jazul 3, Manganti 2, Verano 2, Tuffin 2, Daves 2.

Quarters: 21-25, 49-43, 79-59, 95-87.