Javi GDL visit surfaces memories, what-ifs for Dyip core
The recent dominant win by San Miguel Beer over Barangay Ginebra—in what was expected to be a thrilling clash between title favorites in the PBA Philippine Cup on Friday—set the stage for a brief but meaningful reunion of former teammates who, just a year ago, helped make Terrafirma look like a team on the rise.
Javi Gomez de Liano’s visit to Smart Araneta Coliseum ended up in a brief reunion with fellow former Terrafirma teammates Juami Tiongson, Stephen Holt, Isaac Go, and Drei Cahilig, after the Beermen cruised to a 104-93 victory.
“So he’s not gonna text that he’s gonna pull up to the game. That’s crazy,” Holt said while Gomez de Liano was being interviewed at the hallway.
Gomez de Liano is back home after completing a season with Anyang in the Korean Basketball League, and he had, literally, a front-row view as Tiongson, Cahilig and San Miguel dominated Ginebra, which fielded Holt but continued keeping Go at the sidelines while he recovers from an injury.
“We really had some good memories at Terrafirma,” Gomez de Liano said.
At this point last season, the Terrafirma core was defying the odds as the usually floundering side pulled off an unlikely quarterfinals berth—only the team’s second in franchise history—after getting the eighth and final seed in the 2024 Philippine Cup.
Tiongson emerged as an All-Star and the Dyip’s unquestioned leader under coach Johnedel Cardel, Holt impressed in his rookie season as a two-way player, Gomez de Liano was a highly effective wing, Go showed signs of a solid big man, while Cahilig performed his usual blue-collar work.
Terrafirma even gave San Miguel, the top team after the eliminations after almost completing an 11-game sweep, a scare when it forced a do-or-die situation in the quarterfinals before the Beermen showed their true mettle and eliminated the Dyip.
Sadly, the core broke up in the offseason as Gomez de Liano took his talents to South Korea before Holt and Go, plus Terrafirma’s third pick in the Draft, were dealt to Ginebra. Tiongson and Cahilig eventually were sent to San Miguel after the Governors’ Cup.
Gomez de Liano politely interrupted the media scrum and joined his fellow Terrafirma alums in a group photo that fetched memories of that 2024 run and also dredged up what-ifs.
Could the core have evolved into something more special for the Dyip?
There will be no concrete answers to that question now.
And neither will be for the current crop of Dyip standouts.
Terrafirma is on the brink of exit even as its future still hangs in the balance after the initial deal to sell the franchise to Starhorse didn’t materialize over financial issues.
Three companies, however, have informed the league of their interest to acquire the team.
“I felt sad, but I hope that it’s for the betterment of the team and that the next buyer can help make the team better,” said Gomez de Liano.
The five chatted for a little while before going their separate ways, like it was Dominic Toretto and Brian O’Conner in that epic scene to close out the seventh installment of the “Fast and Furious” franchise.
