Quezon Huskers beat Rizal Golden Coolers 90:74 in the MPBL on Monday, a result that keeps them firmly in second place while moving the visitors further from the playoff push. To be fair, the margin was never going to be close — the Huskers had ground out five straight wins before this fixture, while the Coolers were struggling to find consistency away from home.
The hosts didn't travel to make up the numbers. They switched to a back three early and were dominant in the air from set plays, which explains the 16-point gap on the board. By then, the visitors had already turned it around after the break, but the damage was done.
What matters here isn't the scoreline but what it means. The Huskers sit on 26 points from 15 games, two behind whoever leads, and they cannot afford another slip. The Coolers, meanwhile, are six games adrift with 17 played — one mistake ends it for them this season.
I watched enough of their recent run to notice the pattern. Quezon won 86:67 against Zamboanga Sikat and 121:73 with Imus Brotherhood, but they also dropped 67:84 to Jansen Warriors. That loss to the Warriors is the one that stays with you.
The Coolers came into this with momentum — 102:85 over Imus Brotherhood, 126:74 against Batangas City — but they were reduced to ten at the defensive end by the second quarter. There is unrest in the dressing room, or at least that is what the results suggest.
And here's the thing: the history between them adds an edge. When two sides from the same conference meet with this much on the line, the game never feels routine. The Huskers carved them open in the third period and didn't look back.