CJ Perez says ex-team Terrafirma ‘different now’ as San Miguel faces sudden death

SUMMARY

MANILA, Philippines – Gone are the days when opposing teams used to handily beat Terrafirma.

That has been evident in the PBA Philippine Cup as the Dyip stand a win away from a breakthrough semifinal appearance in franchise history after dragging No. 1 San Miguel to a sudden death in their quarterfinals clash.

Beermen star CJ Perez, whose two-year stint with Terrafirma saw the team finish no higher than 10th place, said the Dyip have come a long way.

“Terrafirma is very different now. It isn’t like before that when you face Terrafirma, people think it’s an automatic win. That is no longer the case,” said Perez in Filipino.

Unable to build a competitive team as they repeatedly traded away their top draft picks and star players, the Dyip have gone through the worst.

Starting with its maiden quarterfinal appearance in the 2016 Governors’ Cup, Terrafirma failed to reach the playoffs in the next 16 conferences, compiling a lowly 35-142 record – or a winning percentage of .198 – over that period.

That stretch included 25 straight defeats – the second-longest losing streak in league history.

But the Dyip have turned things around this conference behind super scorer Juami Tiongson, do-it-all rookie Stephen Holt, reliable gunner Javi Gomez de Liaño, and sweet-shooting big man Isaac Go.

Returning to the playoffs after an eight-year wait, Terrafirma showed it is far from done as it stunned twice-to-beat San Miguel, 106-95, on Saturday, May 11, for its seventh win – its most in a single conference.

One more victory and the Dyip will become just the fifth No. 8 seed team in PBA history to eliminate the No. 1 squad in the playoffs.

“You cannot underestimate them. They got good players. Almost everyone in their lineup have been playing well. They’re superstars too,” said Perez.

On the brink of seeing their All-Filipino title defense crushed, Perez and the Beermen look to get the job done in the do-or-die match on Wednesday, May 15, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. – Rappler.com