LOUIE Sangalang served as one of the few bright spots for Terrafirma in what was an an otherwise dismal showing in the PBA Philippine Cup.
And the 6-foot-4 forward fought all the way to the bitter end.
Sangalang scored a game-high 24 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the floor in a performance that served as a silver lining in Terrafirma’s 97-82 loss to the Blackwater Bossing on Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
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The loss was the 10th straight for the Dyip, who ended their all-Filipino stint with a 1-10 record, marking the third straight last-finish place in a conference for the woeful franchise.
Terrafirma ended Season 49 with a 3-30 (win-loss) record, its worse since going 3-31 two seasons ago that further heightened the uncertaintly hounding the franchise heading to the off-season.
Sangalang admitted even the players are not certain on what the future holds for them.
“Kami rin hindi pa namin alam kung ano ang mangyayari, pero sana nga maganda ang mangyari,” he said.
It’s been no secret the Dyip franchise has been put up for sale prior to the start of the Philippine Cup, initially drawing the interest of Starhorse Shipping Line.
But after negotiations between Terrafirma and Starhorse bogged down, Zamboanga Valientes entered the picture and is now in talks of acquiring the Dyip team.
Although the sale is not yet final, the Dyip were already prepare for whatever happens after the season.
Pringle gesture
Veteran guard Stanley Pringle had his jersey signed by all of the Terrafirma players after the game, and a team dinner was scheduled to follow hours later.
“Ginawa na lang namin na masaya (atmosphere) kasi hindi namin sure kung maghihiwa-hiwalay na kami, so parang nag-enjoy na lang kami, tapos mamaya may bonding kami, kakain yung buong team,” said Sangalang, who won three NCAA championships with Letran (2019-22) and an MPBL title with Pampanga Lanterns.
The Dyip, according to Sangalang, wanted to exit with a bang but just couldn’t match the firepower of Blackwater, which had five players in double figures led by Richard Escoto's career-best 21 points.
“Gusto sana nmin talaga na itong game matapos namin ng maganda kaso kinapos na naman kami,” he said. “Pero tapos na, e. So hindi kailangang malungkot kaming lahat, lalo na yung iba. (Kung) maghihiwalay kami hindi sure di ba. So hindi na kami nagpakalungkot o inalala yung game pa.”
As for his consistent plays in the conference, Sangalang played it down especially amid all the losses suffered by the Dyip.
“Parang hindi ko pa rin masabi na maganda yung conference ko kasi one win lang e, sobrang sama pa rin nun. Kahit wala akong score basta ang importante manalo,” he said. “Bonus na lang siguro na maganda yung nilaro ko.”
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