In a dogfight with unblemished NLEX, Terrafirma got an ace in Maverick Ahanmisi.
Ahanmisi provided not only firepower but also a stabilizing presence as the Dyip took down the Road Warriors, 114-109, in a PBA Governors’ Cup stunner last week.
The Dyip dropped a 9-0 bomb in the last 2:07 en route to taking down NLEX, which was unstoppable in its first six games, and more importantly reviving their playoffs bid by moving to a share of fourth with Converge in Group A at 3-4.
And serving as the anchor of this endgame blitz was Ahanmisi.
The 35-year-old guard issued back-to-back assists to Geo Chiu sandwiching a steal off Schonny Winston to enable Terrafirma to catch the Road Warriors at 109-all, then followed it up with a clutch defensive rebound that led to Brent Paraiso’s go-ahead shot with 1:09 left.
With a big offensive board and two charities from Paraiso and a split from Ahanmisi from there, Terrafirma closed it out and finally pulled through after some close calls that included a 100-101 loss to NLEX in Round 1.
“I think it’s a learning process,” said Ahanmisi. “Credit to the team for showing character and to the coaches, they made us do a lot of situational stuff in practice and I think that helped us (in the down-to-the-wire finish against NLEX).”
Ahanmisi’s brilliant performance highlighted by 16 points on a 63-percent field goal, 10 assists, three rebounds and three steals against NLEX earned him the honor as the PBA Press Corps’ Player of the Week for Aug. 4 to 8.
He beat the likes of Magnolia’s Jerom Lastimosa, Blackwater’s Sedrick Barefield, fellow Dyip Paraiso, and San Miguel’s Don Trollano for the weekly citation handed by the men and women covering the PBA.
