Stanley Pringle rose to the occasion when import Antonio Hester hurt his left wrist in the middle of Terrafirma’s fourth quarter uprising.
The seasoned guard showcased his vintage form, scoring 10 straight points in the Dyip’s breakaway run to down defending champion TNT, 84-72, for their first win in Group A of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Taking a breather early in the second half to rest his hurting knee, Pringle came up big in the payoff period hitting a go-ahead trey with under 10 minutes left that triggered Terrafirma’s fightback on its way to ending an eight-game losing skid.
It was the Dyip’s first win over the Tropang Giga in 19 meetings in the last seven seasons.
The 37-year-old veteran caught fire in the last six minutes when he single-handedly created significant separation for Terrafirma by hitting three driving layups and sinking all of his four free throws for a 79-70 lead with 1:39 left.
Aldrech Ramos put the cherry on top of the decisive 13-4 run with a trey in the remaining 35 ticks of the match for the also-ran Dyip.
“I was a little hurt in this game. My knee was acting up a little bit from all the games, back-to-back. Coach let me sit out in the second half. I asked coach to let me sit out for a while and just activate and let me do my mobility on the bench,” Pringle said.
Hester, who left the game for good with 7:08 left after hitting a funny bone that numbed his left wrist, had 22 points and 10 boards while Pringle scored 11 of his 18 markers in the fourth quarter.
Terrafirma kept the game close before clamping down on defense in the fourth to spark its counterattack.
Pringle’s trey gave the Dyip a 60-59 lead with 9:25 in the fourth. Hester, Paolo Hernandez and Philip Cahilig then accounted for the Dyip’s 9-4 run to hike their advantage to five.
Tropanmg Giga import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson cut it to three, 69-66, in the last 6:12 of the game before Pringle took over.
“The guys stepped it up and I just came at the end. Played hard at the end and we got the win,” Pringle said.
Louie Sangalang chipped in 10 points while Cahilig scored eight in Terrafirma’s first win over TNT since the 2016 Governors’ Cup.
“Our running game worked, and the defense followed. All my players were dedicated to the defense. They communicate,” Dyip coach Johnedel Cardel said.
“Credit to all my players. Even though we’re outnumbered with just 10 players (available), we’re still fighting and looking for our first win. We got it tonight. I’m thankful.”
TNT absorbed its second loss in nine games that halted its five-game winning run and stalled its bid to secure the top seeding in the quarterfinals outright.
Hollis-Jefferson had a double-double of 25 points and 11 rebounds while RR Pogoy had 23 markers for the Tropang Giga.
Box scores:
TERRAFIRMA (84) --- Hester 22, Pringle 18, Sangalang 10, Cahilig 8, Ramos 7, Hanapi 7, Hernandez 6, Olivario 2, Carino 2, Ferrer 2
TNT (72) --- Hollis-Jefferson 25, Pogoy 23, Oftana 5, Erram 4, Nambatac 3, Payawal 3, Varilla 3, Castro 2, Khobuntin 2, Williams 2, Heruela 0, Vosotros 0, Exciminiano 0
Quarters: 15-18, 32-36, 50-57, 84-72