Dyip aim to sustain amazing run

Terrafirma has gained more than just a ticket to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup quarterfinals through the backdoor.

Lumbering outside of the playoffs picture for 16 straight conferences over eight years, the Dyip finally got their deserved respect.

Second-year small forward Javi Gomes de Liaño teamed up with Terrafirma’s 1-2 punch rookie Stephen Holt and court general Juami Tiongson in eliminating NorthPort, 104-96, in the playoff for the eighth and last quarterfinals berth Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

“I’m really glad to be helping out the team. Since I started training with Terrafirma, it has always been my personal goal to help Terrafirma make it to the playoffs and get the respect of the league and the fans,” Gomez de Liaño said after dropping 21 points to complement the 30 markers of Tiongson and 18 of Holt.

The all-important victory over the same team it beat in the eliminations gave the Dyip their first playoffs appearance since the 2016 Governors’ Cup under the then-playing coach Manny Pacquiao.

It also marked head coach Johnedel Cardel’s fist quarters stint after taking the franchise’s coaching reins in 2018.

“Sixteen conferences of not making the playoffs and I think this is just bound to happen with the players coming in. It’s a perfect puzzle with coach John leading us, certainly, I saw this coming way before,” Gomez de Liaño added.

Terrafirma made it to the next round after a good start in its all-Filipino conference campaign.

It collected five wins in 11 outings tied with the Batang Pier, who saw themselves in trouble in the closing stretch of the elims, forcing a playoff.

However, the Dyip will have an uphill climb in the playoffs taking on top seed and twice-to-beat defending champion San Miguel Beer on Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

But Gomez de Liaño and the rest of Terrafirma are unfazed.