By REYNALD MAGALLON
On a rare sight on Sunday, March 15, the early PBA Commissioner’s Cup standings showed Terrafirma at the top of the ladder with a 2-0 record.
And it wasn’t an error. The Dyip just proved just that last night when they pulled the rug from under perceived title-contenders Converge FiberXers, 111-100 at the Ynares Center in Montalban.
It was a game that displayed the team’s new-found poise and character — built from the ragtag crew, players who have plenty of things to prove in the big league.
And knowing that they are not the most talented team on paper, Dyip head coach Ronald Tubid said it’s all about going the extra mile.
“Sabi nga namin noong nag-overtime, okay yung laro, pero we need to work extra mile, five minutes. So, yun. What happens, sa amin napunta,” said Tubid after the Dyip blanked the FiberXers in the overtime, 11-0, to come away with the win.
“Gutom kami. So, yung culture namin na in-establish ngayon ng mga coaches, yun yung it starts in practice. Now, we’re enjoying practice. We’re excited to practice. We’re doing well in practice,” he added.
And the epitome of that call to go above and beyond was import Ali Mubashar.
The seven-foot center turned in one of the most explosive performances in the PBA in recent memory, dropping 50 points and 25 rebounds.
All while fasting for the Ramadan.
“I was fasting. I couldn’t really breathe. I was going up and down trying to do my best,” said Mubashar, who had 25 of his total in the final frame and overtime.
But Mubashar was just grateful to his teammates for believing in him. And the sweet-shooting big man is also optimistic that the team can do great things in the mid-season conference
“Nothing would be possible without those guys, man. We got special guys in the locker room, man. That whole 50 and everything, that came from their trust and the coaches’ trust and belief in me,” said Mubashar.
“We got a bright future, man. We got a lot of guys in the team. We got some mixture of vets. We got some young guys that’s really hungry. We got some experienced guys.”
“The whole point is the fact that thanks to the staff, our head coach, our assistant coaches, everybody’s like they’re bringing this good environment, fun environment to work in. Every day we come into work, it’s fun,” he stressed.
