CYRIL Gonzales may have struggled on offense in his homecoming for Mapua, but he more than made up for it on the defensive end of things.
While he only shot 5-of-18 from the floor for 11 points, he was a pest on the other end of it, producing five steals while making life hell for Lyceum’s guards in the Cardinals’ 90-89 double-overtime slugfest win over the Pirates in the opener of the NCAA Season 101 on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum
The defending champs had a tough first half, struggling to string together runs due to their captain, Clint Escamis, falling into early foul trouble and Gonzales struggling to find his rhythm on offense.
READ: Cardinals show there's more to them than Escamis in gritty opener
But as they say, there’s no bad day on the defensive end of things and that’s exactly what Gonzales focused on in this match.
“Early fouls si Clint so kailangan namin magstep up as a team, so ako nagstep up ako,” Gonzales said.
After Escamis fouled out in the first overtime with three minutes and twenty-seven seconds left, Gonzales checked back in, bringing the clamps and tallying two of his five steals in the overtime period.
Excited as his return to Mapua was a long time coming, he just used that energy to power through what was a tiring and epic two-OT game in the opener.
“Sobrang exciting and sobrang sarap sa pakiramdam kasi isang taon din akong nag-antay eh,” he said.
“Nakakapagod, sobra. Pero sobrang saya kasi dun kami maggogrow as a team, eh. Yung mga dikitan. Buti di kami nag give up, buti hindi kami sumuko sa dulo,” he added.
After bouncing around from Mapua, to University of the Philippines and back to Mapua again, Gonzales knows that he’s wasted a lot of time doing residency instead of being on the actual court.
That’s why expect him to be at his best and give full effort in every game on both ends as he wants nothing more than to end his collegiate career on a high.
“Iniisip ko nalang na ito na yung simula ng last year ko sa college, so dapat every game excited ako. And iniisip talaga namin na dapat manalo kami.”
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