Terrafirma pulls off another upset, thwarts Ginebra to book second win

Terrafirma slayed another giant after dismantling Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 95-90, to book a second straight win in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup Friday at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.

The Dyip have now scored back-to-back upset victories after it dispatched powerhouse San Miguel, Ginebra's sister team, last Wednesday to arrest a four-game slump to start the conference.

Juami Tiongson, whose heroics paved the way for their SMB upset, played a crucial role anew, knocking down four three-pointers to lead a big third quarter for Terrafirma. They scored 27 points in the third against only 19 for Ginebra to establish a 13-point lead heading to the final quarter, 78-65.

That lead, though, was chopped back down to single digits after Ginebra unleashed a quick 9-5 run to open the payoff period, 83-74.

Veteran LA Tenorio buried back-to-back buckets from downtown to make it a two-possession game, 88-83, with Ginebra still trailing.

Stanley Pringle converted on a triple with seven seconds left in an attempt to salvage the game but it was again Tiongson knocking down two free throws in the dying seconds to seal the win.

Tiongson, who scored a career-high 28 points in their previous game, set a new personal best of 31 points to go with three rebounds and six assists in this one.

Eric Camson and Aldrech Ramos registered 15 and 11 markers, respectively.

Ginebra, who dropped to 2-3, was led by Christian Standhardinger who unloaded a team-high 17 points coupled with eight boards and three assists while Japeth Aguilar carved out 16 markers.

—JMB, GMA News