PBA: Terrafirma pulls away late vs. Macau to revive playoff hopes

Jerrick Ahanmisi sparked the fourth-quarter breakaway as Terrafirma secured a 102-84 win over Macau to revive its fading playoff chances in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner's Cup on Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

Ahanmisi dropped seven crucial points in the final frame and finished with a team-high 29 points alongside eight assists, two steals, and one rebound while import Mubashar Ali posted 24 markers, 16 boards, and five dimes as the Dyip arrested their six-game slump to improve to 4-6.

More importantly, the win allowed Terrafirma to remain in the quarterfinal race with only two games left in its preliminary round schedule against San Miguel and Meralco.  

"Sa practice naman namin everyday, we keep on pushing the guys kasi for how many games, 'yung ilang straight na talo namin, 'yung iba do'n nag-relax kami after being up," Terrafirma head coach Ronald Tubid said.

"So stay lang kami sa concept na gusto ng sistema namin, especially sa offense namin. 'Yung opensa namin 'yung struggling and just so happened na nakuha namin sa game na 'to."

Ahanmisi set the tone early, lighting up the floor with 18 first-half points as Terrafirma seized momentum and stretched the lead to as many as 11. His scoring burst kept the Black Knights on the back foot for much of the opening half.

Still, the Black Knights gradually steadied themselves to trail by just a point at the halftime break, 54-53.

Macau stayed within striking distance in the third quarter with Damian Chingqui drilling a triple to level the game at 71-all but Terrafirma managed to regain a slim 78–77 edge heading into the fourth period.

Curiously, Chongqui didn't see action in the entire fourth quarter as Macau only fielded six players in the final period, basically setting the stage for the Terrafirma pullaway. 

Top overall pick Geo Chiu, JM Bravo, and Ahanmisi powered an early 8–0 blast to open the fourth quarter, quickly swinging momentum in Terrafirma’s favor. Ahanmisi then buried a three-pointer to push the lead to 89–81 before following it up with a floater that stretched the advantage to 91–81.

His older brother Maverick later joined the surge, finishing a layup to make it 97–84 as Terrafirma pulled away. 

Shawn Umali and CJ Catapusan added the final baskets to seal the win, with the Dyip strengthening their playoff push while deepening Macau’s struggles.

Chiu and Bravo each posted 12 points while Maverick finished with nine markers, three rebounds, and three assists. 

Scores:

Terrafirma 102 – J.Ahanmisi 29, Ali 24, Chiu 12, Bravo 12, M.Ahanmisi 9, Hernandez 5, Zaldivar 4, Catapusan 3, Umali 2, Garcia 2, Eriobu 0, Paraiso 0, Umali 0.Macau 84 – Cao 27, Mitchell 22, Shackelford 13, Leung 10, Chongqui 8, Zhu 2, Lu 2, Chen 0, Chao 0.Quarters: 21-20, 54-53, 78-77, 102-84.

—JKC, GMA News