ENTERING their match against Terrafirma on Wednesday, San Miguel coach Jorge Gallent was concerned about his players taking their opponent lightly.
Gallent's concerns proved valid.
Terrafirma jumped out of a 19-7 lead, and was still ahead, 54-45, at the half. Fortunately for them, San Miguel was able to regroup and eventually got a 113-110 victory thanks to Mo Tautuaa’s heroics in the end game.
Gallent says Terrafirma is no pushover
Gallent said Terrafirma is no longer a team that it was used to be where a win would most likely be a sure thing.
“The start of the game, we were relaxed and I was really scared of that because my players thought that Terrafirma was just there,” said Gallent.
“But they are not a pushover team anymore. It’s a team that can fight, fight, and fight,” the San Miguel coach said.
Terrafirma dropped to 4-4 following the loss on Wednesday, but the Dyip remain in the hunt for a playoff spot. The conference saw the Dyip win their first two games, with their biggest victory of the conference coming at the expense of Barangay Ginebra last Sunday.
'It's not a scared team anymore'
Stephen Holt, Juami Tiongson, and Javi Gomez de Liano have been delivering the goods for Terrafirma. On Wednesday, it was Isaac Go who nearly helped Terrafirma score another upset where he scored 21 points and made seven threes, both career-highs.
After seeing the Dyip’s games and seeing them up close on Wednesday, Gallent believes that Terrafirma has the talent to go on a playoff run this conference.
“It’s a team that knows how to win already. They were 4-3 before our game,” said Gallent.
“It’s a team that is hungry. It’s a team that wants to get to the quarters. And I think they have a great chance now. That’s why they are playing like that. It’s not a scared team anymore,” said Gallent.
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