Juami Tiongson once again caused trouble to the Barangay when Terrafirma battled Ginebra in a PBA Governors’ Cup showdown, Sunday.
The 5-foot-10 gunslinger fired 27 points, as he was on the forefront of the Dyip’s attack that saw them gain a head start and lead the defending champions by as many as 22 points with less than 10 minutes remaining in the third.
And he was there, too, in the midst of the Gin Kings’ furious retaliation. He nailed tough buckets down the stretch – a stretch where he engaged in a shoutout with LA Tenorio to put his side up once more.
“He was the one who was fighting us off,” said Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone. “Every time we fought, like, we were gonna make a move, he hit a big shot, whether it be on iso or off the ball screen, or a swing.
“He just wasn’t missing.”
Such a performance by the Ateneo de Manila product brought Ginebra flashbacks of their 2021 Philippine Cup encounter in Bacolor.
There, Tiongson sizzled for a career-high 31 points on nine three-pointers. He powered Terrafirma to a 95-90 stunner of the then-reigning titlists.
However, there was no repeat of which whatsoever this time. The 31-year-old lost steam in the dying seconds, missing both of his free throws that could have given the lead back to his side as they were just down by one, 107-108.
He also missed the potential game-tying trey with 26.5 seconds left, and Ginebra went on to complete the comeback with the 112-107 win.
Still, Cone was all praises for Tiongson, who shot 50-percent from the field and racked up four assists and three rebounds in 32 minutes.
“Hats off to Juami,” the league’s only 23-time champion mentor expressed.
“Juami was… Again, he beat us in the last game. We said we weren’t gonna let him beat us this game, and he still almost beat us again.”
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