It was such a rare sight to have both Terrafirma and Blackwater, two perennial doormat teams, to be leading the PBA standings early in the conference.

But for the Dyip, it was exactly what they envisioned as they hoped to break free the cellar and shed that infamous tag.

Terrafirma head coach John Cardel shared that his wards are very much determined to sustain the surprising 2-0 start as they eye a spot in the quarterfinals in the all-Filipino conference.

“Every game ksilangan manalo kami, hindi namin iniisip may dalawang panalo na kami kasi baka mag-relax sila. So every game kailangan one zero, one zero hanggang sa makuha namin 'yung goal namin going to the quarters final,” said Cardel following the team’s 99-95 victory over NLEX.

The win also came at the heels of Terrafirma’s strong debut where it took down Converge 107-99 for the franchise’s first 2-0 start since the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup – incidentally the last time that the Dyip also made the playoffs.

“Kailangan naman namin ilaban to every game yon yong goal namin makapasok namin kami sa quarterifnals but syempre hindi lang naman akmi yung lumalakas na team, lahat ng team lumalakas so every game is important to us,” said Cardel.

“We have to play together. This time talagang I believe nagtututlong tulong sila lalo na sa depense we can win ball games more than two,” he added.

A big reason for Terrafirma's surprising rise so far is how every member of the team buy in to the idea of winning and elevating the team to the next level, according to top rookie pick Stephen Holt.

“The work we put in practice is no joke. While we won these two games, we were working hard. Credit to coach, our coaching staff and our players for buying into wanting to be great in this conference,” said Holt who has been leading the way for the Dyip with 22 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 4.0 apg, 4.5 spg in the first two games.

Terrafirma is set for a five-day break before testing its mettle against the big guns in TNT on Saturday, March 9 and last conference semifinalist Phoenix on March 13.