Juami Tiongson–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Terrafirma cornerstone Juami Tiongson was in a celebratory mood on Sunday afternoon, shaking fellow players’ hands, and chatting with team officials during the PBA Rookie Draft.
But deep down, he was still reeling from the sudden departure to another team of his two teammates, Isaac Go and Stephen Holt—both integral in the club’s surprise run during the last Philippine Cup.
“This has a bittersweet feeling,” he told the Inquirer on the sidelines of the annual selection at Glorietta’s Atrium in Makati City. “We’ve already had plans for how to attack his conference—me, Ice [Go], and Stephen.
“Our relationships go beyond the court,” he added. “We even have a group chat where we talk about plans, including how to go about this coming conference.”
Instead of picking up where Terrafirma left off, Tiongson and the Dyip will have to go through rebuilding once again after Go, a promising big man, and Holt, the runaway pick for Rookie of the Year, was shipped to Barangay Ginebra on the eve of the annual selection. This, as the club was still nursing the exit of Javi Gomez de Liaño, who opted out and chose to play in South Korea.
Looking at it differently
Terrafirma won a franchise record-matching five wins in the last All-Filipino and advanced to the quarterfinals, even dragging the outrageously stacked San Miguel Beermen to a rubber match.
The feat would’ve been a neat starting point for Terrafirma in the coming 49th season, but as Tiongson blurted out on Sunday, “there are things we couldn’t control.”
Tiongson thus tried to look at the rosy side of his team’s situation where Terrafirma had gained a high IQ and bruising big man along with crafty guard—albeit aging—who could provide instant impact on offense.
Terrafirma received Christian Standhardinger, a perennial Most Valuable Player candidate, and Stanley Pringle as parts of the Saturday deal. The Dyip—with the 10th pick of the draft that day—also got Mark Nonoy, a gutsy guard who was part of La Salle’s championship team in the last UAAP season.
“I’m excited to play alongside Christian and Stanley—they’re two elite players. Chemistry issues at first will be understandable, as we’re not used to playing with each other. But as always, we’ll figure things out,” he said.
“He and June Mar [Fajardo] have always battled each other in the MVP race. To have a guy like that will make life easier for me,” he added of Standhardinger, easily Ginebra’s finest player during the last conference.
“Hopefully, we’d play better and have better success this next [season],” Tiongson added. “I hope we figure things out soon. I’m super excited.” INQ