Dyip End Losing Skid With Furious OT Three-Point Blitz

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Terrafirma finally found the finish it had been missing. The Dyip snapped a brutal three-game losing skid by grinding out a 111-106 overtime upset over depleted defending champion TNT on Saturday night in the PBA Governors’ Cup at Ynares Center-Antipolo.

Juami Tiongson spearheaded a barrage of four three-pointers in the final 2:09 of extra time, capping a stretch that saw Terrafirma erase a late deficit and finally close out a tight game after squandering a six-point lead in the last minute of regulation.

Juami Tiongson powered Terrafirma to an overtime victory over TNT. [PBA Images]

Tiongson’s Triple Barrage Buries TNT in Overtime

Tiongson knocked down back-to-back triples before Joseph Eriobu and Maverick Ahanmisi followed with a three-ball of their own, pushing Terrafirma ahead, 110-106, and putting the game out of reach.

“Finally,” Tiongson said as the Dyip snapped a hat trick of close defeats to NLEX (100-101), Converge (103-105) and San Miguel Beer (104-109), improving to 2-3 in Group A.

“I don’t know how we did it, but credit to my teammates, we played with all heart, we stayed aggressive and we played to win,” he added.

Tiongson finished with 24 points on a sizzling 5-of-7 clip from three, with he and Ahanmisi (20) backing up Justin String’s monster 36-point, 12-rebound performance. “We just kept encouraging each other, every mistake, we just stayed positive every time,” Tiongson said.

Dyip Survive Late Collapse, Complete OT Comeback

Unlike in their previous setbacks, the Dyip took the front foot in their duel with the depleted Tropang 5G, leading by as many as 18 points at 56-38 and entering the fourth quarter with a 72-61 cushion.

Terrafirma even held a 94-88 lead heading into the final minute, only to watch Jordan Heading spark a furious rally that forced a 94-94 deadlock after 48 minutes. TNT then wrested control in overtime, building a 104-98 cushion before the Dyip answered with their lethal bombing to seal the win.

“Gusto ng TNT manalo pero mas gusto namin manalo (TNT wants to win, but we want to win more),” said coach Ronald Tubid.

Heading’s 29-point explosion went to waste as the Tropang 5G, missing five key players led by Jayson Castro and Calvin Oftana, fell in another ambush after also bowing to Titan Ultra, 87-103, slipping to 1-2 on the conference.