Although Terrafirma has had a brilliant start to the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup, head coach Johnedel Cardel would prefer the rest of his team to remain grounded.

In addition to matching their win total from the previous Commissioner’s Cup, the Dyip defeated Robert Bolick and NLEX on Sunday by a score of 99-95 to go 2-0 in the season-ending conference. This was also their finest start in a long time.

Terrafirma has also been able to tie Blackwater for the conference lead thanks to their 2-0 start. As per Fidel Mangonon III, the league’s chief of statistics, this is the first time that both the Dyip and the Bossing are 2-0 in the rankings.

However, Cardel is not going to allow this strong start to cloud their judgment because they have their sights set on something far more important.

The former player who is now a coach said that they would be able to accomplish it if they continue to put in constant effort, particularly on defense.
It would also be beneficial to stick to one topic throughout. “We need to be attentive to every game.

Meanwhile, in overtime, NorthPort overcame a deficit of up to 18 points and defeated Converge 112-104 to seize the victory in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup on Sunday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

With 2:56 remaining in the game, Cade Flores and William Navarro took advantage of breakaway opportunities to help put together a decisive 6-0 run toward a 102-96 lead. Joshua Munzon opened the scoring in extra time.

After losing to NLEX in overtime last Friday, that proved to be sufficient for the Batang Pier to maintain control for the remainder of the game and record their first victory.

The young team defeated the FiberXers 16-8 in extra time to close the game strongly after finding themselves facing a 68-50 disadvantage in the third quarter. It was an example of how much the team had learned from that setback.

Arvin Tolentino led the way with 31 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, and a block in the fourth quarter, steadily and progressively bringing NorthPort back from the enormous deficit.

Munzon, a third-year guard, finished with 17 points on 50% shooting, six rebounds, a career-high six steals, and two blocks.

In his second game back after suffering an ACL injury, Navarro scored 16 points, pulled down 11 rebounds, and added three assists, a steal, and three blocks.

With 14 points and 10 rebounds, rookie Flores recorded his personal double-double. He was inspired to play after being left out of the PBA All-Star Bacolod 2024 Rookies-Sophomores-Juniors Game.

Contrarily, Alec Stockton led Converge with 27 points, including the three-pointer that tied the score at 96-all with 10.9 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Tolentino’s own mistake from beyond the arc forced overtime.

While Justin Arana scored 25 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, the FiberXers struggled against NorthPort’s defense, which allowed the latter to amass 19 thefts, and turned the ball over eight times for a total of 31 turnovers (17 in the fourth and overtime).

Big man Bryan Santos chipped in 11 points for the losing team, which saw Coach Aldin Ayo’s squad trail 84-67 early in the fourth quarter.