EVEN after four opening defeats, LJay Gonzales hasn't skipped a beat in his last dance with the FEU Tamaraws.
Consistency has been the senior's strong suit thus far in Round 1, flexing a six-game statline of 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and two steals with the most minutes played on average by any Tamaraw at 28:59 minutes.
READ: FEU starts winning as Denok Miranda becomes 'more demanding'
In the Morayta side's second straight win of UAAP Season 86 over Adamson, it was the 5-foot-11 playmaker who nailed two clutch buckets to hold off a surging Falcons side.
But pressure aside, Gonzales only had one thing in mind in the dying moments — to win.
"Hindi ko na iniisip ‘yung mga ganung sitwasyon (sa dulo ng laro) kasi gusto naming manalo eh. Gusto naming makuha ‘yung second win namin. Nagtrabaho lang kami hanggang sa matapos ‘yung game, dumepensa lang kami hanggang dulo," said Gonzales.
Now 2-4 (win-loss), Gonzales is more driven than ever to repay the trust of his coaches and teammates.
“Binibigay sa ’kin (ng coaches) ‘yung tiwala. So ‘yung tiwalang ‘yun, hindi ko sinasayang kasi ito nga, last year ko na. Gusto ko rin i-prove sa coaches na ‘yung pagbigay nila sa’kin ng mga ganitong (must-win) sitwasyon sa laro, magawa ko nang maayos," said Gonzales.
FEU head coach Denok Miranda, who aims to keep the Tamaraws run going, is already set on making Gonzales the team's go-to man moving forward especially when the game is on the line.
“Kapag walang nangyayari, binibigay na namin kay LJay (Gonzales) eh. Kayod-marino (si LJay) kaya pinag-iisipan naming coaches, lalo na ako, kung paano pa makakakuha si LJay ng magandang tira sa dulo (ng laro).”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
