TERRAFIRMA, fuelled by Juami Tiongson’s 30 points and Stephen Holt’s double-double of 27 points and 10 rebounds, rolled back Converge FiberX, 107-99, for a winning start in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Tiongson made 10-of-21 from the floor with four three-pointers in 38 minutes, while Holt went 12-of-19 in 36 minutes for the Dyip, who are hoping to redeem themselves following a dismal 2-9 win-loss record in the previous conference.

Also contributing to Terrafirma’s rousing debut were Isaac Go (13 points), Javier Gomez de Liano (10), and Joshua Alolino (10).

The Johnedel Cardel-mentored Dyip led by as many as 24 points (76-52) but had to dig deep to stave off repeated rallies by the FiberXers.

Converge unleashed a 23-7 run tonarrow the gsp to only eight points, 75-83, late in the third period.

A layup by Justin Arana made it even closer, 95-101, with under two minutes left.

A layup by Tiongson pushed the lead bsck to eight, 103-95, but Alec Stockton countered with a layup of his own to cut the deficit again, 97-103.

Stockton and Arana carried the fight for Converge with 18 points apiece, followed by Deschon Winston with 17 points.

“We’re happy to beat converge. First tine namin manalo sa kanila, ” said Cardel.

“Sabi ko nfa maaga kami bumalik sa training para makapaghanda. Nagbunga naman dito sa game na ito.”

Meanwhile, Christian Standhardinger emerged as the top pick in the drafting of players for the PBA All-Star game set in Bacolod next month.

Standhardinger was selected no. 1 by Team Japeth Aguilar during the official All-Star drafting held Monday night at the TV 5 Media Center.

Not to be outdone, Team Marc Barroca countered by choosing seven-time MVP June Mar Fajardo as the no. 2 overall pick.

Aguilar and Barroca emerged as the top 2 players who received the most number of fan votes and became outright captains of the two All-Star teams competing in the March 22-24 festivities.

Coaching Team Japeth is Barangay Ginebra’s Tim Cone, while Team Barroca will have San Miguel’s Jorge Gallent manning the sideline. Cone and Gallent were also the two coaches who received the most number of fan votes.

The scores:

Terrafirma (107) – Tiongson 30, Holt 27, Go 13, Gomez de Liano 10, Alolino 10, Sangalang 9, Calvo 6, Ramos 2, Cahilig 0, Camson 0, Mina 0.
Converge (99) — Stockton 18, Arana 18, WIlson 17, Santos 14, Fornilos 8, Ambohot 7, Melecio 5, Balanza 5, Zaldivar 3, Maagdenberg 2, Caralipio 2, Nieto 0, Delos Santos 0, Fleming 0.
Quarterscores: 27-21, 56-44, 86-75, 107-99.

Games Saturday:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
3 p.m. — Blackwater vs. TNT
6:15 -.m. — Rain or Shine vs. Meralco