Quezon stayed sharp just barely a week after winning the championship in the Pilipinas Super League and its good showing spilled over in its first two games in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League’s new season.
Xyrus Torres came away productive, scoring 16 points in the Huskers’ 72-68 squeaker of new team Pangasinan Heatwaves, Judel Fuentes tallied 12 markers, the same output produced by Ximone Sandagon.
But LJ Gonzales flirted with a triple-double performance of nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists while setting the tone for the Huskers, who won their first two games in the MPBL just a week after winning the PSL President’s Cup.
A former star point guard of Far Eastern University, Gonzales believes the team’s performance is still sky-rocketing right after their first title won in another league, which prepared them well for the new MPBL season.
“Sobrang laking boost yung galing ka sa pagkaka-champion. Pinaghirapan talaga namin yun at hindi talaga madali,” said Gonzales.
Gonzales was referring to the path they need to undertake, being a fifth-seeded team which needed to beat No.4 Caloocan twice to make it to the semifinal round.
In the semifinal round, Quezon had to face No.1 seed Biñan, which the Huskers, carrying the moniker Titans in the PSL, also defeated twice in a row.
When Quezon fought Nueva Ecija for the titular showdown, the Titans knew they need to snatch one away from enemy’s territory to get a good chance of winning this thing altogether and that’s what exactly they did in Game 2 when it levelled the series in Palayan City, 83-75.
The next two games at home didn’t come like a breeze, though, for Quezon as it scrambled for a 75-68 triumph in Game 3, then wrapped up the series in Game 4 with a strong fourth quarter all the way to winning, 77-64.
“Ilang games yun na mahihirap, then sa huli, Nueva Ecija pa kalaban, mga ex-PBA players, so sobrang laking pasasalamat rin namin sa mga coaches na parating andyan para tulungan kami, i-push kami kami. Ang gusto lang naman ni Coach Eric (Gonzales) everyday, mag-improve kami kahit one percent,” added Gonzales.
