Steven Guinchard lit it up from the distance as Eastern formally clinched a spot in the quarterfinals by virtue of its 134-110 victory over the also-ran Terrafirma in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Friday, Jan. 17.

Guinchard drilled six triples and one four on his way to 20 points to help the Hong Kong-based team overcome a tough stand from the Dyip even without import Chris McLaughlin who hurt his ankle five minutes into the game.

Eastern actually picked up the slack with Ramon Cao topscoring with 23 points and seven rebounds while Kobey Lam added a double-double of 20 points and 10 assists.

Hayden Blankley chipped in 16 while Hao Zhu and Yuet Yeung Pok were the other players in double-figures with 13 and 11, respectively, for Eastern which shook off the hard-fighting Terrafirma behind a huge fourth quarter explosion.

The Dyip were actually within striking distance heading into the final frame, 79-88, but Eastern opened the floodgates by pouring 45 points in the payoff period.

Brandon Edwards had 26 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Dyip but unlike in the team’s first 11 games, he had plenty of support this time with Aljun Melecio finishing with 17 and Stanley Pringle with 16.

Despite the winless run, Terrafirma is taking some encouraging signs heading into its final assignment for the conference against TNT after notching its best scoring mark in the loss to the Eastern.