THE Quezon Huskers called on Judel Fuentes to repel the Paranaque Patriots, 76-69, Monday night, and advance to the South Division finals of the MPBL (Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League) Sixth Season at the Batangas City Coliseum.
Fuentes pumped in 10 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter to power the Huskers to a two-game sweep of the Patriots in their semifinal series. Quezon also won Game One, 75-62.
Now, all the Huskers need to do is wait for the outcome of another semifinal series between the Batangas City Tanduay Rum Masters and the South Cotabato Warriors.
South Cotabato took Game One, 87-76, and is also gunning for a sweep of Batangas late in the evening.
Showing why he's licensed to shoot, Fuentes made 10 of 18 field goal attempts, highlighted by a 5 of 11 performance from the 3-point zone, and added 3 rebounds to earn the Daily Fantasy best player honors.
Fuentes was the lone Husker in twin digits, with Jason Opiso and team skipper Gab Banal contributing 8 points each and Alvin Abundo chipping in 7, all in the first half.
Banal also posted 7 rebounds and 3 assists while Opiso grabbed 4 rebounds as the Huskers held the rein for 37 minutes and 27 seconds.
The Huskers, powered by Fuentes' 10 points, Abundo's 7, and Banal's 6, led at the break, 40-34, negating Patriot JP Sarao's 15-point explosion and Jielo Razon's 9-point output.
Sarao wound up with 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals, Razon with 15 points plus 4 rebounds, and John Uduba with 9 points plus 10 rebounds.
With Philip Manalang also snaring 10 rebounds and Kristan Hernandez pulling down 9, the Patriots outrebounded the Huskers, 45-37. However, they were hampered by poor 31.6 field goal shooting (18 of 57) against their rivals' 27 of 62 attempts for 43.5 percent.
Quezon Coach Eric Gonzales attributed the Huskers' success to the "collective effort" of the players, coaches, management, and team owners, led by Quezon Gov. Helen Tan.
