JUAMI TIONGSON played his finest game so far as the Terrafirma guard engineered the Dyip’s 110-104 overtime upset of the San Miguel Beermen at the resumption of the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
The Dyip played without top draft pick Joshua Munzon (dislocated finger) and last year’s No. 1 pick Roosevelt Adams (amoebiasis). But Tiongson took over and tallied a career-high 28 points he laced with seven assists, three rebounds and three steals.
The victory snapped the Dyip’s four-game losing spell.
“I just stayed calm and had fun,” Tiongson, one of the pro league’s underrated playmakers, said. “At the end of the day, it’s just basketball.”
Tiongson knocked down a jumper to forge a 95-all with 44 ticks to go and neither team scored the rest of the way in regulation with June Mar Fajardo missing two free throws in the final 24 seconds and Tiongson muffing a potential game-winning triple.
It was a different story in overtime. Tiongson hit a three-pointer for a 104-100 Dyip lead with 2:13 left. Terrence Romeo’s step back jumper made it 104-102, Terrafirma held fort en route to the upset win.
Rashawn McCarthy, who had 10 points, split his free throws and Eric Camson nailed two charities for a 107-102 Terrafirma breather with 22 seconds remaining. The Beermen, on the other hand, missed two important baskets from Arwind Santos and Romeo.
McCarthy canned two more free throws with only seven seconds left for a 110-102 count.
“It’s not all about just Juami [Tiongson] but the other veterans also took charge and worked very hard in this win,” said Terrafirma coach John Cardel, who drew 17 points and eight rebounds from big man Aldrech Ramos.
Big men Eric Camson and Joseph Gabayni posted double-doubles each. Camson had 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Gabayni registered 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Romeo led the Beermen with 28 points, six assists and six rebounds while Arwind Santos had 19 points. Fajardo, the sixth straight Season Most Valuable Player, had 18 points and 11 rebounds.
San Miguel Beer fell to a 3-2 win-loss record.
TNT had an explosive performance in the second half to bury Blackwater, 96-76, behind rookie Mikey Williams’s 16 points. The Tropang Giga stayed undefeated in four games, while the Bossing remained winless in five games.