By REYNALD MAGALLON
John Cardel and the Terrafirma have seen the end of the road to their six-year partnership after the Dyip let go of their former head coach following a tumultuous PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup campaign.
The 54-year-old tactician was given the pink slip after the Dyip finished dead last in the conference, only winning one in their 10 games even with the addition of Christian Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle.
Since he took over the coaching job in 2018, the Terrafirma Dyip have been one of the perennial “whipping boys” although there were flashes of brilliance especially in stretches when Cardel was given enough tools and talent to perform.
That was very much evident during the Philippine Cup of the 2023-24 Season where he got his hands on what he called as the best Terrafirma lineup he has ever handled.
Bannered by then star guard Juami Tiongson, Cardel had a potent crew that also included top rookie pick Stephen Holt, vastly improving Isaac Go and Javi Gomez de Liano, Andreas Cahilig and Kemark Carino.
The team broke through to the all-Filipino quarterfinals for the first time in its franchise, even taking away one game from the then twice-to-beat San Miguel.
The next conference, however, Terrafirma traded away Holt and Go for Standhardinger and Pringle along with a pick swap which turned out to be RJ Abarrientos for Ginebra and Mark Nonoy for the Dyip.
While the crew remains promising, injuries to Tiongson and Standhardinger along with chemistry issues hampered the campaign of the Dyip.
In Cardel’s departure, his lead assistant Raymond Tiongco will step in as an interim coach.
