{"id":1039,"date":"2024-04-14T03:26:45","date_gmt":"2024-04-14T03:26:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/?p=1039"},"modified":"2024-04-14T06:17:44","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T06:17:44","slug":"titans-on-verge-of-psl-title-outlast-capitals-in-game-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pinoystep.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/14\/titans-on-verge-of-psl-title-outlast-capitals-in-game-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Titans on verge of PSL title, outlast Capitals in Game 3"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LUCENA CITY \u2013 Local folks of this city packed the Quezon Convention Center in anticipation of a Titans victory right at their turf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They didn\u2019t go home disappointed as the Quezon Titans pulled off a gripping 75-68 win in Game 3 and moved on threshold of winning the PSL President\u2019s Cup best-of-five championship series late Saturday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Titans can wrap up the series with another win at home and reward the entire province of Quezon with a championship on Tuesday\u2019s Game 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winning one at home didn\u2019t come  easy though for Quezon, which battled a depleted yet solid 10-man roster of Nueva Ecija.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A champion team in different leagues, the Capitals refused to budge in quickly and had the Titans reeling on the ropes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, they couldn\u2019t deliver the knockout blow as Quezon, generating more energy from the crowd, found the resolve when needed the most as Judel Fuentes stepped up when the game was on the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Engaged in a shooting duel with rival guard Chris Bitoon, Fuentes came all pumped up and knocked down 23 points, built around five three-point shots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuentes had back-to-back treys in less than a minute span, sandwiching the triple hit from the corner by Bitoon, but the former Centro Escolar University Scorpion who led his team to a championship in the NCRAA four years ago, delivered the telling blow in the 1:24 mark of the final quarter and pushed the Titans up, 72-65.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those baskets proved to be the dagger as the Titans went on to preserve the victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFirst time kong maglaro dito, puno yung gym talaga,\u201d said Fuentes. \u201cSana sa Game 4, andyan pa rin sila at nakasuporta sa amin at sana makuha naming yung goal namin na mag-champion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quezon coach Eric Gonzlaes knows the basketball tradition of the province, which developed great coaches and players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the notable champion coaches who came from Quezon were Leo Austria and Louie Alas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYung Quezon maraming magagaling na coaches and players na nanggaling dito,\u201d said Gonzales. \u201cTalagang very passionate. Kapag sablay ang coach, talagang makakarinig ka. Pero isang bagay na Nakita ko, pagdating sa larangan ng basketball, they\u2019re one and united. We continue to offer this game for them.\u201d       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LUCENA CITY \u2013 Local folks of this city packed the Quezon Convention Center in anticipation of a Titans victory right at their turf. They didn\u2019t go home disappointed as the Quezon Titans pulled off a gripping 75-68 win in Game 3 and moved on threshold of winning the PSL President\u2019s Cup best-of-five championship series late…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[37,17,24],"class_list":["post-1039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-nueva-ecija-capitals","tag-psl","tag-quezon-titans"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t