PBA: NorthPort, Terrafirma in lithium tests vs powerhouses

Terrafirma guard Juami Tiongson goes for a layup against Barangay Ginebra in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup.–PBA IMAGES

NorthPort and Terrafirma, two surprise packages in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup, take on powerhouses Magnolia and San Miguel as the league celebrates its 49th founding anniversary at Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila on Wednesday.

The Batang Pier look to extend their eye-popping run against the slumping Hotshots at 7:30 p.m., their bid anchored on the belief they have forged through cutthroat practices that have helped them to a 4-1 start.

“I’m honestly not surprised with the way they are playing because they’ve been like that in practice,” NorthPort coach Bonnie Tan said of his players. “I’m just glad that they’re responding to our game plans and I’m praying for consistency—that we stay this way so we’d be in a better spot after the eliminations.”

“We’re a young team. We’ve got a lot of youngsters on this squad who are hungry, trying to prove something in the league, which shows why we have been competing,” said rising star Arvin Tolentino, who is having a career season.

A win against the defensive juggernaut that is the Hotshots not only gives Tan’s young crew the validation it wants, but also a leg up in the race for playoff positioning that is beginning to heat up.

NorthPort, as things stand, is currently at No. 3. But a triumph could give it an edge over struggling perennial contenders like TNT and Meralco and a chance to tab an ever-elusive twice-to-beat protection in the quarterfinals.

Coming off upset

Interestingly, that is also how Johnedel Cardel, whose Dyip is just behind with a 4-3 mark, is looking at Wednesday’s task against the unbeaten Beermen.

“It could go down to the win-over-the-other (rule for ranking) should we tie NLEX or whichever team we beat earlier. So it’ll be a really big help if we beat San Miguel,” he said.

Terrafirma should feel less intimidated against the mighty Beermen in the 4 p.m. clash as they are coming off a sensational upset of Barangay Ginebra last Sunday.And just like NorthPort, the Dyip are drawing a lot from their renewed confidence.

“In this conference, we learned to trust each other more,” said Javi Gomez de Liaño, the young forward who starred in that conquest of the crowd darlings.

“We learned how to play as a group. Last year, we had a lot of rookies, so it took us time to adjust our chemistry and get better. Along the way [now], I see improvements from one another,” he added.

“They’ve been competing,” said Cardel. “You could see that this is a different team. In this All-Filipino, we have a big chance of getting what we want, which is making the quarterfinals.” INQ