At 4-4, Terrafirma, which bested Ginebra in its previous outing, has left teams scratching their heads in the ongoing PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup.
Lest people forget, Terrafirma is no longer a pushover.
San Miguel was reminded of that on Wednesday, April 10, as the Beermen had it rough before pulling off a 113-110 escape act against the Dyip in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup.
"[At the] start of the game, we were relaxed and I was scared of that because my players thought Terrafirma was just there. But they're not a pushover team anymore. It's a team that will fight, fight and fight," said SMB coach Jorge Gallent.
[WATCH: PBA Game Highlights: Terrafirma drives off Ginebra, climbs to fourth]
The Dyip, indeed, fought tooth and nail until the end.
It was a seesaw battle in the last two periods, with neither team refusing to fold.
In the fourth quarter, San Miguel's CJ Perez and Mo Tautuaa traded blows with Terrafirma's Stephen Holt and Isaac Go.
With the Beermen holding on to a slim three-point lead, 113-110, as Tautuaa strung five points in a stretch including a layup with 15 ticks to go, the Dyip tried to send the game into overtime.
But Go muffed an open triple at the buzzer to hand San Miguel its fifth straight victory.
After the thrilling match, Gallent had nothing but praises for the hard-fighting Dyip.
"It's a team (Terrafirma) that knows how to win already. I think they're not scared of winning anymore," said Gallent of the Dyip which totes an even 4-4 card at fourth.
"It's a team that's hungry, it's a team that wants to enter the quarters. I think they have a great chance now. That's why they're like that. It's not a scared team anymore."