MANILA, Philippines – With the Terrafirma Dyip finally breaking an eight-year PBA quarterfinal drought, the team is bent on “changing the narrative” with their playoff run.
The Dyip on Wednesday punched the final quarterfinal ticket after trouncing the NorthPort Batang Pier, 104-96, in the playoff for the eighth spot.
They will be facing the mighty San Miguel Beermen, the top seeds of the PBA Philippine Cup, with Dyip at a twice-to-win disadvantage.
Javi Gomez de Liano, who erupted for 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, said that it has always been a personal goal for him to help the Dyip make the playoffs “and get respect from the league.”
“Hopefully, little-by-little, we can gain the respect by everyone and the organization because I think we deserve it as well,” the forward said.
“We’ve been working hard, and throughout the years, we have been receiving bashing and just not good reviews but I hope with this playoff campaign, that we change the narrative,” he added.
This is the first playoff berth by Terrafirma since the 2016 Governors’ Cup, when they were still called the Mahindra Enforcer.
This is also the first time the Dyip won six games since that conference.
Gomez de Liano underscored that it was the perfect time for the squad to make the quarterfinals, especially with its composition.
“Like what you guys said, 16 conference streak of not making the playoffs, and I think this is just bound to happen with the players coming in, like a perfect puzzle. With Coach John leading us, I saw this coming, like way before,” he stressed.
“This year, we were all on the same page and we really believe from the beginning of this season that we're really contenders,” he added.
“Last year we said that we’re just trying to make it to the playoffs. But this time, I think we wanted it, we believed in ourselves more and so I think that mental aspect that we all had to share to be on the same page.”
Terrafirma head coach Johnedel Cardel acknowledged that going into the All-Filipino conference, he was confident of the team’s chances of making the quarterfinals.
“I have the materials like Juami [Tiongson] and [Stephen] Holt together, like Batman and Robin. I have twin big men like Ken [Carino] and Isaac [Go] and I have Javi, who’s improving a lot in his game,” the coach reiterated.
“Dre [Cahilig], Louie Sangalang and some other guys, contributing small things. So, that’s it… We’re here and we got six wins, usually we just win four every conference, so it’s a big morale boost for our team.”
Terrafirma and the defending Philippine Cup champions will be facing each other on Saturday, 3 p.m., at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.