Thanks to Stanley Pringle, Terrafirma finally hacked out a win on its ninth try in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup, and it's one against perennial contender TNT.
Stanley Pringle wore a big smile on his face when he faced reporters at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium press room on Thursday, Sept. 19.
Pringle, who previously starred for Ginebra before being traded to Terrafirma this PBA season, could not help it.
Largely due to his efforts in the fourth quarter, his new squad, the Dyip, checked two droughts as they pulled the rug from under league-leading TNT, 84-72, in the Governors’ Cup.
[WATCH: Stanley Pringle drives Terrafirma to win column | PBA Highlights]
First, Terrafirma arrested an eight-game losing skid. And second, the squad did that against the Tropang Giga, whom they last beat in 2016, according to league chief statistician Fidel Mangonon.
“I think we all stood together,” said Pringle.
“At first, everybody got frustrated. But after a while we kept losing, we were just, ‘Hey, we’re losing; we might as well have fun. Keep working hard but, at the same time, have fun and be positive.”
Dropping close games back-to-back, where they succumbed to late heroics by Magnolia and Converge to surrender their slim lead and eventually, the victory both times, the Dyip indeed remained positive.
Up against TNT, Terrafirma kept in step with its formidable foe, with Pringle taking matters into his own hands in the end.
And he did that despite nursing a hurt knee.
“I was a little hurt this game. My knee was acting up a little bit from all the games back-to-back,” said the 37-year-old Pringle.
[ALSO READ: PBA: Coach Tim Cone pleased with how Ginebra responded after embarrassing 49-point loss to San Miguel]
Because of this, the league veteran actually asked Dyip coach Johnedel Cardel to sit him out for most of the first three quarters.
Antonio Hester held the fort before Pringle poured his all in the fourth as he delivered the big blows down the stretch.
“Coach John (Cardel) let me sit out in the second half for a while… the guys stepped it up. I just came in really at the end and played hard and got the win,” Pringle said.
He dropped 13 of his 18 points in the payoff period, including the free throws at the 1:39 mark that gave Terrafirma a 79-70 cushion.
Hester churned out 22 points he topped with 10 rebounds two assists and two blocks before exiting in the final minutes due to what appeared like a left wrist issue.
Backing up the duo are Louie Sangalang, who registered 10 points while Andreas Cahilig and Aldrech Ramos combined for 15 markers.
As for TNT, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and RR Pogoy took care of scoring cudgels with 25 and 23 points, respectively, but they went gun shy in the most important minutes of the match.
The Dyip thus avenged their 89-107 first-round loss to the Tropang Giga last Sept. 5.
The Scores:
TERRAFIRMA 84 – Hester 22, Pringle 18, Sangalang 10, Cahilig 8, Ramos 7, Hanapi 7, Hernandez 6, Olivario 2, Carino 2, Ferrer 2.
TNT 72 – Hollis-Jefferson 25, Pogoy 23, Oftana 5, Erram 4, Nambatac 3, Payawal 3, Varilla 3, Castro 2, Khobuntin 2, Williams 2, Heruela 0, Vosotros 0, Exciminiano 0.
Quarterscores: 15-18, 32-36, 50-57, 84-72