MONTALBAN, Rizal - Terrafirma stunned pre-tournament favorites Converge, 111-100 in overtime, on Saturday to claim the solo lead in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup at the Ynares Center II.
Ali Mubashar exploded with 50 points, 25 rebounds, and three blocks as the Dyip claimed their second straight win at the expense of a FiberXers squad projected to go far in the conference.
It is Terrafirma's first 2-0 start since the 2024 Philippine Cup.
Dyip goes all the way
Terrafirma also showed great composure after all looked lost when Geo Chiu missed a couple of point blank shots in the final moments of regulation that would have given the Dyip the lead.
After Juan Gomez de Liano split his charities for a 100-98 count, Mubashar sent the game into overtime with a perfectly-executed inbound pass that led to an unmolested lay-up with 16.6 seconds left.
Terrafirma never looked back from there with Jerrick Ahanmisi draining a three, and Ali’s lay-up for his 49th and 50th point of the match sending Converge home.
“This is a team effort,” said Terrafirma coach Ronald Tubid. “Hindi lang si Ali. It’s a team effort of the coaches, players, and even the utility because it starts in practice.”
“Kanina, sabi namin nung nag-overtime. Okay ‘yung laro pero we need to work extra five minutes. It happened na sa amin napunta,” he added.
Ahanmisi had 14 points and five assists on 4-of-12 from threes while Paolo Hernandez had 13 points. Chiu had nine points and 13 rebounds for Terrafirma.
Kylor Kelley had 17 points and 22 rebounds, while Gomez de Liano had 17 points but the FiberXers went 0-of-7 in overtime.
Converge was already holding a 55-46 lead in the third quarter but still lost the game.
The scores:
Terrafirma 111 – Mubashar 50, J. Ahanmisi 14, Hernandez 13, Chiu 9, M. Ahanmisi 8, Bravo 7, Eriobu 6, Umali 4, Adamos 0, Hanapi 0, Zaldivar 0.
Converge 100 – Kelley 17, Gomez de Liano 17, Stockton 15, Baltazar 13, Policarpio 11, Concepcion 10, Arana 6, Williams 5, Garcia 3, Clemente 3, Muyang 0.
Quarters: 24-25; 40-48; 70-75; 100-100; 111-100.
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