At the start of the conference, Terrafirma and Northport were on top of the standings.
Both teams were brought back to earth when San Miguel and Magnolia finally got to play.
At least for both squads, their fall from graces came from either sorry breaks or freak injuries. For Northport, JM Calma is out due to an ACL injury, the same unfortunate incident that Will Navarro suffered. For Terrafirma, it's just the breaks. In some ways, losing their momentum is penance after all the top picks they wasted. Losing guys for nothing is just as bad. At least when they traded Joshua Munzon for Kevin Ferrer, they still had a physical representation of a baller - even if the former UST superstar has yet to play significant ball for Terrafirma due to an ACL injury.
They lost Alex Cabagnot to free agency. They drafted Jordan Heading. And what the hell happened to Roosevelt Adams? I know he is playing in Japan, but when will Terrafirma get their just compensation?
Anyway, the former (or still) SMC farm squads battle each other for the right to face the San Miguel Beermen in the quarterfinals. San Miguel is a tough matchup but given the circumstances in their last few seasons, making the quarters is a feat for the Batang Pier and Team Dyip.
Terrafirma wrestled the eighth spot thanks to Juami Tiongson's 30 points. I know Terrafirma is a team on the rise with a tendency to lose their players to the main SMC squads, but it's nice to see the team having a somewhat complete lineup. Stephen Holt and Magic Tiongson are their one-two punch, but they are also ably supported by Javi Gomez de Liano, Isaac Go, Kemark Carino, Mark Louie Sangalang, and Gelo Alolino. Like Northport, the team has its share of former NCAA court kings but they also have a former Ateneo blue chipper in Go and a former import in Holt.
Here is the knockout match.
Hopefully, Terrafirma can at least get a win over the Beermen.