Meralco and Terrafirma, two teams which opened their respective missions in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup on high notes, both aim to sustain the charge as they tangle for a 2-0 start at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Sunday, April 6.
With all the talk on its team sale, Terrafirma focuses on sustaining hot start
Apr 5, 2025 07:27 AM
At a glance
Meralco and Terrafirma, two teams which opened their respective bids on a high note, seek to sustain their charge when they tangle on Sunday, April 6, in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
With their own end goals in mind, the Bolts and the Dyip are determined to keep their momentum going for a 2-0 start in their 5 p.m. showdown, hours after opening-day losers Converge and Phoenix battle at 7:30 p.m.
Fresh from a rare 95-87 victory over Phoenix, Terrafirma hopes to leave a lasting impression in what could be its final conference in the league. The Dyip had actually already tied their win record last conference and another victory would allow them to eclipse it.
“Yung mga bata ko, nagma-mature na sila. Yung presence rin ni Terrence (Romeo) and Stanley (Pringle) dun sa practice maganda kasi nagiging high competition and nagko- commit sila doon sa ginagawa namin,” said Dyip head coach Raymond Tiongco.
Tiongco, however, is careful to not make the current talks around the sale of the Dyip’s franchise a distraction and preached his wards to focus on their task at hand.
“Sabi ko lang, positive sila. Meron silang mga contract, tuloy lang nila. Dapat ibibigay nila yung best nila. Kung magpapalit man ng management, kailangan nilang maglaro. Trabaho nila yun eh,” said Tiongco.
“Nanalo naman. Nanalo (today) so positive lang ang approach ng lahat,” he added.
Out to test Terrafirma’s resolve, however, is the defending champion Meralco, which is also playing with a chip on its shoulder. The Bolts had to be bailed out with a clutch from Chris Newsome to dispatch Converge, 91-89, in the conference opener.
Meralco likes to see the tough win through a rosy lens, though, as it puts its focus on the team’s poise and resilience despite missing veterans Allein Maliksi and Chris Banchero.
“There are two things that can happen when you get in those situations. You can either fall apart and break apart and do your own thing, or you can really come together, try to fix things,” said Newsome.
“We gave up 34 for Converge, but then in the second quarter, we only gave up 10. So that shows that we were able to bounce back. It's not something that we need to get used to or that we should turn into a habit, but I think it shows that we're capable of doing that,” he added.