Siblings steal spotlight from Phoenix victory over Terrafirma
RODRIGUEZ, Rizal—Phoenix hammered out a 107-76 victory over Terrafirma to snap a four-game skid in the PBA Philippine Cup and move out of a logjam at the bottom of the standings.
That, in a nutshell, was what happened on Wednesday evening at Ynares Center II here.
But it was hardly the story of the night.
Two pairs of siblings suited up during the game, one as teammates and the other as opponents, heightening the drama in the opening match of Wednesday night’s doubleheader.
The Fuel Masters’ Ricci Rivero took on his older brother Prince, who plays for the Dyip, and the game ended with the two swapping jerseys.
Maverick Ahanmisi’s Terrafirma debut, on the other hand, allowed him to finally team up with his younger brother Jerrick, a reunion marred only by the fact that another loss was tacked on the Terrafirma board.
“It was fun, actually, because it was the first time that we faced each other,” said Ricci, whose 16 points and six rebounds helped Phoenix improve to 2-5 while sending Terrafirma down to 1-6.
No ride sharing
Ricci said there had been some ribbing between the two in the hours leading to the contest, which saw him turn down Prince’s offer of a ride to the venue here.
“I told him ‘no, because you’re my opponent,’” Ricci said in jest. “But we’ve been talking since last night and told him to just play his game.”
Ricci is glad that Prince has been getting the opportunities at Terrafirma. The elder Rivero was a practice player for Phoenix last season, but took a chance at earning a roster spot when the Dyip called for tryouts during the offseason.
“I was really excited coming into this game because I never imagined that we would be playing together as opponents, and I’m really happy to be given this chance,” said Prince, who had two points and two rebounds in 19 minutes.
The Ahanmisis teamed up for the first time in a game that might have been a first for the league. There are no records readily available to check if two pairs of siblings had previously played in the same game.
Maverick scored four points on 1-of-3 shooting in 11 minutes as he finally suited up after dealing with a toe injury, while Jerrick was held to two points on 1-of-8 shooting after averaging a team-best 19.5 points.
