JUAMI Tiongson took the scoring cudgels for injury-hit Terrafirma as the Dyip rallied to a breakthrough 110-104 overtime upset of San Miguel Beer in the PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday at the Don Honorio Ventura State U Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
Tiongson sizzled with a career-high 28 points on a 10-of-41 marksmanship (47.6 percent), rifling in the big buckets that keyed the Dyip's fightback from a 16-point deficit in the fourth and their mighty stand in the extension period.
The 30-year-old sniper made 10 in the fourth period, including the game-tying jumper, and added five in OT spiked by a booming trey that gave Terrafirma a 104-100 cushion going to the last two minutes.
Tiongson, who went four-of-nine from beyond the arc and had seven assists and three steals in nearly 40 minutes of action, deflected the credit.
"Everyone stepped up - from the players to the coaching staff," he said.
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Veteran big men Aldrech Ramos and Eric Camson delivered big time in the massive win.
Ramos (17 points) teamed up with Tiongson in their furious fourth-quarter uprising while Camson banged in six of his 13 in extra time, including two charities that stretched their lead to 107-102 with 35.5 ticks left.
"Even though we're 0-4, I kept on motivating the players, talking to them individually, telling them we should play hard every game. I don't want to end up not winning (this conference)," said coach John Cardel.
"I know San Miguel is a strong team, so I told the players let's take it one quarter at a time, maintain our focus on defense, work hard and be patient. It all paid off," he added.
Cardel's crew pulled it off without injured young stars Roosevelt Adams (amoebiasis) and Joshua Munzon (dislocated finger).
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In beating San Miguel, the Dyip spoiled the 28-point explosion of Terrence Romeo in his return from a knee injury. They also put one over former player CJ Perez, who finished with 10 in his first game against his old squad.
Arwind Santos (19-9) and June Mar Fajardo (18-12) backstopped Romeo in SMB side, which saw its three-game win streak snapped. The Beermen slipped to 3-2. (OL)
The Scores:
Terrafirma 110 - Tiongson 28, Ramos 17, Camson 13, Gabayni 11, McCarthy 10, Cahilig 9, Ganuelas-Rosser 7, Celda 6, Batiller 5, Laput 4, Calvo 0.
San Miguel 104 - Romeo 28, Santos 19, Fajardo 18, Tautuaa 11, Ross 10, Perez 10, Lassiter 5, Gotladera 3, Pessumal 0, Zamar 0, Gamalinda 0.
Quarterscores: 19-16, 42-40, 61-75, 95-95, 110-104.
