By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
After 10 tries, the Terrafirma Dyip franchise can finally call themselves winners after clinching their first-ever victory in the ongoing 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Terrafirma gave their all to avoid their 10th-straight loss of the import-laced conference and survived the NLEX Road Warriors in overtime, 124-114, on November 18, 2022 held at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Aside from their lone triumph in the current conference, Terrafirma’s win also broke their 25-game losing streak.
Terrafirma’s last win came in the Governor’s Cup nine months ago when they pulled off an emphatic win against the Blackwater Elite.
This time, against the Road Warriors, the Dyip looked rejuvenated and immediately grabbed the lead from the get-go, thanks to a superb outing from resident import Lester Prosper.
Prosper was a beast on both ends of the floor and willed the whole Terrafirma squad against the talented roster of the Road Warriors.
The leftie bruiser big man finished the game with 50 points and 19 rebounds and was the one who buried the cold-blooded daggers in the extra five-minute period of the showdown.
It was Terrafirma who controlled the match in the first three quarters as Prosper was backstopped by the hot-shooting of Juami Tiongson.
Tiongson went unconscious in the first half and was dropping long bomb after long bomb despite the tight defense the Road Warriors were giving to him.
Prosper’s deuce helped Terrafirma build their biggest lead of the ball game at 17 points, 71-54, and was looking to blow the game wide-open heading into the final 12 minutes.
Just when Terrafirma thought they could snowball their way in the fourth, former NBA swingman Earl Clark and the Road Warriors came roaring back and erased the Dyip’s double-digit lead.
Clark was phenomenal down the stretch and sank baskets during that fiery offensive rally including the game-tying bucket that knotted the score at 110-all. Clark also had the chance to complete NLEX’s comeback but missed the potential buzzer-beating shot in the regulation.
Despite a disappointing meltdown in the final frame, Terrafirma’s resilience rose at the perfect time led by veteran guard Alex Cabagnot who opened the overtime with a momentum-boosting trey.
Prosper then finished what Cabagnot started and carried the Terrafirma offense in the last three minutes of the overtime to formalize their first win of the conference.
