TERRAFIRMA will savor the moment and at the same time be competitive as it plays in its first PBA playoffs in the last eight years.
Juami Tiongson is aware it's going to be a daunting task for the Dyip to topple the top seeded San Miguel Beermen in the quarterfinals, but that doesn't mean the team will just roll over and die.
The veteran guard said Terrafirma didn't reach this far without giving the most successful franchise in PBA history a good fight.
"The fact that we made the playoffs doesn't mean the job is done. There's still games to be played, and malay natin, bilong naman ang bola," said Tiongson.
The Dyip sealed a quarterfinals match up with the Beermen after escaping past Northport Batang Pier, 104-96, in their sudden-death game for the eighth and last quarterfinals berth.
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It's the first playoffs stint for Terrafirma since the 2016 Governors' Cup when it still carried the Mahindra banner and led by fresh from college import James White, and Chris Gavina still at the helm of the coaching job.
The fifth seeded Enforcer eventually bowed out early after losing to the twice-to-beat no. 4 Meralco Bolts right in the initial salvo, 105-82.
Eight years later, the team will try to do better as it hopes to forge a sudden-death with the mighty Beermen, who only lost once in 11 games during the eliminations.
"We're going up against the most elite team dito sa PBA. Honestly, (we'll) just play to have fun. Yung team kasi namin when we're having fun we enjoyed each other. Maganda yung takbo ng game," said the 33-year-old guard out of Ateneo.
"Obviously alam natin from the 1st to the 15th man, any team puwede silang mag start," he said of San Miguel, who's bannered by the inside-outside tandem of June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez.
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"So be aggressive pa rin (kami) from the start."
The San Miguel-Terrafirma quarterfinal tussle is set on Saturday at the iconic Rizal Memorial Coliseum.(RG)
