MANILA, Philippines – The Terrafirma Dyip are finally in the win column of the PBA after scoring a breakthrough victory over the Blackwater Elite, 110-101, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Angeles University Foundation on Friday.
After squandering a double-digit lead in the second half, former Rookie of the Year CJ Perez led the Dyip's offense against the misfiring Elite for their maiden win after 378 days.
The Dyip led by as much as 11 points in the first half of the ball game, but the Elite came barging back into the contest with a huge scoring run in the third quarter.
A four-minute scoring drought from the Dyip saw the Elite lead by as much as three, 69-66.
But Dyip rookie Roosevelt Adams was able to douse the fire with a triple to put the game back in a deadlock, 69-all.
Both teams would go on trading baskets with neither squad pulling away for most of the second half.
KG Canaleta was the reliable scorer for the Elite, keeping themselves within striking distance of Terrafirma until the final minutes.
But back-to-back threes from Adams and Juami Tiongson in the middle of the final salvo swung the momentum to the Dyip's side, 86-83.
Though the Elite attempted to get another scoring run and take back the lead, they just couldn't get over the hump.
Another triple from Tiongson put the nail in the coffin with 1:15 ticks left in regulation to give Dyip the breathing room they need for the win, 108-101.
Perez top-scored for the Dyip with 27 points. He also stuffed the rest of the stat sheet with four rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.
Roosevelt Adams chipped in with a monster double-double of 20 points and 16 rebounds.
For his part, Canaleta tallied a game-high 29 points in the losing effort for Blackwater to go along with his seven rebounds.
The Elite thus suffered their fifth loss in a row and are currently 2-6 in the standings.
Meanwhile, the Terrafirma Dyip improved to 1-7.