Terrafirma veteran guard Stanley Pringle (left) looks to pass off a double-team by TNT’s Ping Exciminiano and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (right). —AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Stanley Pringle and Terrafirma had more than enough reasons to just walk through their forgettable PBA Governors’ Cup campaign without pushing hard for that elusive first win.
But as Pringle described in their shock 84-72 upset of Group A leader TNT at Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Thursday, the Dyip turned their pileup of losses into a nothing-to-lose mentality and started playing loose.
“At first, everybody gets frustrated when we keep losing,” Pringle said. “But after a while, we were just like, ‘Hey, might as well have some fun and keep working hard. And at the same time, have some fun.’”
READ: PBA: Terrafirma stuns leader TNT for breakthrough first win
The ploy worked like a charm for the Dyip. After two heartbreaking losses, they caught a big fish in the Tropang Giga, who lost for just the second time in the group stage.
The win put a little joy into the Terrafirma locker room amid a conference where a promising stint last season ended with vital cogs Stephen Holt and Isaac Go getting traded to Barangay Ginebra, and then Juami Tiongson and Christian Standhardinger falling into inactivity due to injuries.
To compound the Dyip’s woes, import Antonio Hester also went down in the fourth quarter, but Pringle came through with 18 points to help make the Tropang Giga pay for keeping slim leads in the first three quarters.
Heartbreak endings
This time, Terrafirma was able to protect the lead and avoid the heartbreak endings dealt by Magnolia and Converge, who both defeated the Dyip on last-second shots.
“We had two close games—we should have won those two games,” said Pringle, who along with Standhardinger were acquired in the deal that shipped Holt and Go to Ginebra. “But we stayed positive and we kept pushing in practice, and we came out with a win.”
The stinging loss won’t have an effect on TNT’s position, since it had already secured top spot in Group A and a date with the No. 4 team in Group B—either NLEX or Blackwater—in the best-of-five quarterfinals.
The victory does little for Terrafirma, too, outside of making sure it isn’t sent off on zero wins.
Meanwhile, NorthPort tries to keep its playoff hopes alive on Friday against Magnolia at the same venue.
A win keeps NorthPort in the hunt for a quarterfinals berth, but a loss completes the cast in Group A, with Magnolia and Converge clinching the two remaining slots for the next phase of the season-opening conference.
Converge sits at third with a 5-4 (win-loss), followed by Magnolia at 4-4 and NorthPort at 3-5.
NLEX needs to beat Group B tailender Phoenix in Friday’s 5 p.m. opener to gain ground on Blackwater in the race for the last quarterfinals berth in their group.
NLEX and Blackwater are tied at 3-5, but the Road Warriors hold the tiebreaker edge.