LUCENA CITY—Quezon Convention Center is expected to be packed to the rafters in anticipation of a possible championship of their very own Titans on Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., in the PSL President’s Cup.
Playing in front of their hometown crowd for the last time this conference, the Titans of Quezon hope to reward the local folks with a win in Game 4 of their best-of-five championship series against the Nueva Ecija Capitals, who are hoping to extend the series and bring the titular showdown back to their turf for a potential no tomorrow encounter.
But to the minds of the Titans, it all ends Tuesday and they’re expected to grind it out more to finally put away the Capitals for good.
Judel Fuentes, the most consistent player on the side of Quezon, presided over his team in the first three games of the series and he wants to cap his scintillating performance all series long with something to remember.
“Inuuna talaga namin defense para makapag-gel na ‘yung offense namin,” said Fuentes. “Once we start to gel, nakukuha na namin ‘yung kumpiyansa namin.”
Fuentes has averaged 19.66 points, 3.66 rebounds and three assists.
In two of the three games played in the finals, Fuentes was able to knock down five triples to set the tone for his team’s offense.
Their energy on both ends of the court has been a product of their youth and agility and it played a big factor in the series so far, according to Fuentes.
“Nu’ng nanalo kami nu’ng Game 2, from Nueva Ecija derecho kami sa Quezon kaagad para makapag-ensayo the next time at makapaghanda. Six hours rin mahigit ‘yung biyahe namin. Mabuti na lang mga bata pa kami at ‘yun ang so far nagiging advantage namin laban sa kanila,’ said Fuentes.
Nueva Ecija is not just facing a series deficit where it needs to win twice in a row, but it is also been hit by a spate of injuries.
Just before tip-off of the series opener, Bobby Balucanag, a high-flying forward of the Capitals, suffered a knee injury that kept him out of the entire series.
In the closing stage of Game 4, it was Billy Robles, who was not spared of the injury bug as his knee wobbled and couldn’t put a weight on it.
This means the Capitals are now down to nine healthy bodies to compete, but knowing the character of this team, Quezon coach Eric Gonzales expects their rivals to play hard and salvage some measure of pride.
“Champion team ‘yan at hindi magiging madali para sa amin. ‘Yung siyam na players na natitira, siyam na solid ‘yun at magagaling rin talaga ‘yung coaching staff nila headed by Don Dulay,” said Gonzales.