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    COLUMN: Terrible Terrafirma is doing the PBA a great disservice

    Sorry Dyip have made losing the new normal in the PBA
    Oct 14, 2022
    Johnedel Cardel
    PHOTO: Jerome Ascano
    spin zone

    CHICAGO - Terrafirma reminds me of a classic Jane Austen novel. But not in a good way.

    With this dilapidated, heavily-damaged Dyip, there's only prejudice.

    No pride.

    Terrafirma has now lost 21 in a row dating back to last conference's journey into the abyss. After falling to Blackwater today, 96-83, the Dyip have already crashed five times in this Commissioner's Cup.

    [READ: Blackwater piles more woes on Terrafirma]

    Since its September 23 debut, the Dyip have promptly surrendered a total of 528 points while losing by an average of 10.8 points.

    Don't be too hard on yourself if you can't remember the last time Terrafirma won a PBA game. Heck, I can't even recall the last time they were actually in a close game because the Dyip always gets beat the way typhoons batter coastal communities.

    The silver lining here is that Terrafirma is no longer in danger of making the playoffs, which means the company can save a lot of money by not having to give its players post-season bonuses.

    But from a public relations standpoint, Terrafirma is taking a licking.

    AT LEAST FOR ME, TERRAFIRMA IS THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE PBA, A STEP STOOL FOR TEAMS THAT ARE ANGLING FOR A WINNING STREAK OR TRYING TO BREAK A LOSING SPELL.

    The rationale behind corporations entering the PBA is to promote a product or products in front of a vast national audience. The idea is to have people buy what they're peddling.

    Terrafirma, as its record shows, has only promoted losing.

    Besides the prolific Juanmi Tiongson and the versatile Javier Gomez De Liano, I couldn't pick any other Dyip player if it were handed to me like photos from a police line-up.

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      But I can tell you the talented stars this team once had and decided to just give away.

      C.J. Perez. Simon Enciso. Troy Rosario. Christian Standhardinger. And most recently, Jeremiah Gray.

      "Kung di lang pinipitasan ng player yan baka nag-champion na yang Terrafirma na 'yan," (If the team hadn't been harvested, Terrafirma would have probably won a championship by now)," the great Yeng Guiao, then head coach of NLEX before rejoining Rain or Shine recently, said last June.

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      Lester Prosper

      But I don't see the Dyip as victims, they're more like willing participants in trades where they lost top assets. That's why they get zero sympathy from a very discerning PBA fan base.

      But I'm happy for head coach Johnedel Cardel. In other workplaces you don't get to keep your job if you make 21 straight mistakes. The over-under on mess ups for a regular Joe at a regular job is only 3.

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      I guess under-performance has found a comfortable home at Terrafirma.

      SEE ALSO
      SEE ALSO

      Even after its stunning slaying of Ginebra tonight, 101-93, the fact remains that Phoenix is also a bad team.

      But the Fuel Masters are going through a hellacious transition after losing superstar Matthew Wright to the Japan B.League, not to mention the team's parent company is going through a tough financial situation.

      What's Terrafirma's excuse?

      More importantly, why is this punching bag still in the PBA, Kume Marcial?

      Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

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      PHOTO: Jerome Ascano
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