Games Today(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)4:30 p.m. — San Miguel vs Terrafirma7:30 p.m. — Magnolia vs NorthPort
THEY have high potential, talent, competitive spirit and drive. But what makes the Terrafirma Dyip click in the PBA Philippine Cup is firm belief they can do it and trust in one another.
“Bilog naman ang bola (the ball is round). As long as we play together, play within the system, magkaka-chance kami (we will have a chance),” said Dyip coach John Cardel, whose crew led by Juami Tiongson, Stephen Holt, Javi Gomez de Liano, Isaac Go and Kemark Carino have steered Terrafirma to one of its best starts at 4-3.
This worked Sunday in a king-sized 91-85 upset of heavyweight Barangay Ginebra.
The emboldened Dyip look to repeat when they face unbeaten defending champion San Miguel Beer or SMB (4-0) today, Wednesday, at 4:30 p.m. in another tough test at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. “If we get a chance of winning in the fourth quarter (against SMB), we’ll grab it. We’ll just have to remind the players sistema tayo, huwag kaniya-kaniya we need to stick to the system and not play individually),” Mr. Cardel said.
Mr. Cardel noted the big improvement of his charges from the one that couldn’t get traction and finished with 2-9 in the import-flavored Commissioner’s Cup.
“The way they compete even in practice, it’s a different team and it’s the All-Filipino so we have a big chance to achieve our goal of making the quarterfinals,” said Mr. Cardel.
“We work hard everyday. Hindi naman ito iyung dominant team, eh; talagang bata pa rin itong mga ito (We’re not a dominant team and are still young). But I’m lucky I have these guys. We have to build. Bottom line here is they sacrifice; naging isang team talaga sila (they have become a team).”
Mr. Gomez-De Liano added: “This conference, we trusted each other more and learned how to play together. Last year, many were rookies; it takes time to get team chemistry and get better. Every game I see more improvements from everyone.”
The Dyip’s smooth run is something SMB coach Jorge Gallent is keeping an eye on.
“The team’s playing well and their three losses were kind of tight. We can’t be over-confident against this team. We’ll have to play hard and play our usual game,” said Mr. Gallent, whose pacesetting troops are also coming off a victory against the Gin Kings, 95-92, Friday.
Like SMB and Terrafirma, streaking NorthPort (4-1) is chasing win No. 5 in its 7:30 p.m. duel with skidding Magnolia (1-2).
The Batang Pier, who have been gone on a tear since dropping their conference opener, aim to capitalize on the Hotshots’ two-game losing streak to bolster their quarterfinal quest. — Olmin Leyba
