MANILA, Philippines – Yeng Guiao has such high regard for Terrafirma that he feels it would have already won a PBA championship if only the Dyip kept their key players.

Guiao had this to say after NLEX came back from a double-digit deficit against Terrafirma and hacked out a 105-102 win to open its Philippine Cup campaign on Wednesday, June 8.

“Magaling talaga ‘yung TerraFirma. You cannot underestimate ‘yung Terrafirma. Ang lalaki nila, they have the size, may piyesa talaga sila. May mga materyales ‘tong team na ‘to,” said Guiao.

(Terrafirma is a tough team. You cannot underestimate Terrafirma. They have the size and they have the pieces. This team has the materials.)

“Siguro importante lang sa kanila, tumagal ‘yung samahan nila eh, parati kasing napipitasan ng player ‘yan eh.”

(The important thing for this team is for them to be together for a long time because their players are always taken away from them.)

Guiao is referring to the trades the Dyip have figured in over past seasons.

Terrafirma dealt the 2017 top pick, which turned out to be Christian Standhardinger, and 2018 first selection CJ Perez to San Miguel, and recently shipped 2021 second pick Jeremiah Gray to Barangay Ginebra.

“[Kung] hindi lang pinipitasan ng player ‘yan, baka nag-champion na ‘yang Terrafirma na ‘yan eh,” Guiao said.

(If only their players were not taken away from them, Terrafirma would have probably been champions by now.)

The Dyip appeared to have turned a new leaf after winning just six games last season as they enjoyed a 16-point lead at halftime.

But the Road Warriors gained their bearings in the second half, with the trio of Kevin Alas, Calvin Oftana, and JR Quiñahan delivering the goods as NLEX outscored Terrafirma 74-55 in the last two periods.

“Mabuti talaga, nahanap namin ulit ‘yung opensa namin. Pero maraming papahirapan ‘tong Terrafirma,” said Guiao.

(We’re fortunate we were able to find our offense. But Terrafirma will make life difficult for a lot of teams.) – Rappler.com