Tiongson, Dyip bracing to face a ‘di erent SMB’ on Wednesday
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ELIMINATIONS topnotcher San Miguel Beer fell to No. 8 Terrafirma, 106-95, in their quarterfinals matchup on Saturday afternoon in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
And the Dyip have all the reason to celebrate after slaying a giant, but have to be better prepared for their winner-take-all game this Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
“We just have to relax and have fun,” Terrafirma’s scoring leader Juami Tiongson told BUSINESSMIRROR on Sunday. “It only means that they [Beermen] are not unbeatable.”
“But we have to be level headed and we don’t want to let this thing go to our heads, knowing San Miguel Beer has the capability to get back because they have vast experience,” he added.
Tiongson had 29 points, 10 he made in the fourth quarter, and top rookie pick Stephen Holt finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the win that negated San Miguel Beer’s twice-to-beat advantage for topping the eliminations with 10 wins and only one loss.
Isaac Go was also in the middle of the equation by keeping the Beermen at bay with his 11 of 22 points—laced with six three-pointers—in the first quarter and Javier Gomez de Liaño was two assists shy of a triple double with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Terrafirma.
“We’re here so we cannot let this opportunity go away,” Tiongson said. “We have to give it our best again although we expect face a different San Miguel on Wednesday night.”
Terrafirma, seeing action in the playoffs for only the second time since the 2016
Governors’ Cup, aims to become the second eighth-seeded squad to advance to the semifinals after Northport, which eliminated NLEX in back-to-back games in the 2019 Governors’ Cup.
Terrafirma nailed 15 triples against San Miguel Beer’s nine in perhaps one of the team’s hottest nights.
June Mar Fajardo led San Miguel Beer with 21 points, 16 rebounds and three steals, while CJ Perez and Jericho Cruz posted 20 and 11 points, respectively.