WILL Terrafirma’s big off-season gamble pay off?
That will be known when the Dyip battle the Converge FiberXers today in Group A action in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The match is set at 5 p.m. before San Miguel Beer, coming off a bridesmaid finish in the last Philippine Cup, squares off with Phoenix in Group B play in the nightcap at 7:30.
Terrafirma coach Johnedel Cardel is hoping his charges can jive with their new additions.
“Excited ang buong team and basta ang sinabi ko lang sa kanila, no pressure,” Cardel said.
“Basta laro lang tayo and kung saan makarating Okay pa rin. Kailangan lang talaga mag-jell ulit.
“Hopefully, it will just take us a few games para ma-develop iyong chemistry. May mga nawala man, mga quality players namang kapalit so mas lumalim ang bench ko,” he added.
The Dyip will now boast of prized center Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle, who came via a blockbuster trade with Ginebra; Brent Paraiso, taken from NorthPort, and the return of Kevin Ferrer following an ACL tear he suffered in early June of last year.
Gone are Stephen Holt and Isaac Go who were shipped to Ginebra, Javi Gomez de Liaño (Korean league), JP Calvo and Eric Camson.
Import Antonio Hester just had a day of practice with Terrafirma after coming in just two days ago as a last-minute replacement for Brandon Edwards, who suffered an ACL injury during a tune-up game with Meralco last week.
Converge is also waiting for No. 1 pick overall Justine Baltazar to finish his MPBL stint, with interim strategist Franco Atienza out to pass his first test.
The likes of Justin Arana, Alec Stockton, Bryan Santos, Mike Nieto, Schonny Winston, and reinforcement Scotty Hopson will be tasked to spearhead the FiberXers’ attack.
Newly minted eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Terrence Romeo, Don Trollano, Chris Ross, Marcio Lassiter, Jeron Teng, and Moala Tautuaa will be relied upon by the Beermen, who added Kris Rosales via free agency and rookie Avan Nava.
The spotlight will also be on SMB import Jordan Adams and Fuel Masters counterpart Jayveous McKinnis in their maiden outing on Philippine soil.
