THE Quezon Huskers fielded Will Gozum for the first time and reaped dividends with a 96-74 dumping of the Bicol Volcanoes last Saturday in the OKBet-MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Fifth Season at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
Showing why he was named the 2022 NCAA seniors MVP while playing for St. Benilde, the 6-foot-6 Gozum scored 16 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, handed 2 assists and blocked a shot to earn best player honors and power the Huskers to their fourth straight victory and a share top spot with the defending champion Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards and the Muntinlupa Cagers.
It wasn’t only Gozum, also a former NCAA juniors MVP with Mapua, that the other 28 teams in the tournament should worry about, however, as Quezon also acquired former Ateneo Blue Eagle Raffy Verano, who contributed 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in the Huskers’ easy victory after scrambling wins over the Negros Muscovados (82-80), the Mindoro Disiplinados (85-80), and the Rizal Xentromall Golden Coolers (74-73).
Jeric Teng also delivered 15 points and 10 rebounds and so did Al Francis Tamsi with 10 points plus 2 rebounds for the Huskers, who zoomed beyond reach at 89-55.
Lucena Mayor Mark Alcala contributed 7 points while 6-foot-5 RJ Minerva, formerly of National University, snagged 11 rebounds, issued 3 assists and scored 3 for Coach Eric Gonzales.
Bicol suffered its fourth straight defeat despite the 24-point, 5-assist, 3-rebound, 3-steal effort of Andrew Estrella and the 10-point, 8-rebound, 6-assist output of James Martinez.
Other games saw Pasig City MCW Sports drub Paranaque, 96-58, and Bacolod City of Smiles thwart Bataan, 73-69.
Shane Menina sparked Pasig’s third win in four starts with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, followed by Ryan Paule Costelo and Kenny Roger Rocacurva with 17 points each.
Robbie Manalang joined the onslaught with 11 points as Pasig sealed the outcome, 81-38, early in the fourth quarter.
Only Jiolo Razon shone for Paranaque, which skidded to 1-4, with 19 points and 4 rebounds.
Bacolod improved to 2-2 behind a spread-out offense led by Allan Mangahas’ 10 points and 9 rebounds. Homegrown Domark Matillano added 9 points and Ryusei Koga 8 points for Bacolod.
The Bataan Risers trailed 40-23 at halftime and dropped to 2-2 as their rally instigated by Yves Sazon (12 points), James Castro (10 points) and Arvie Bringas (10 points) fell short.
