Having missed three games at the tailend of the elimination round, Ed Daquioag knew he had a lot of catching up to do.
Daquioag has been solid since his return and in Game 1 of the 2016 PBA D-League Finals, he continued to make up for lost time to help Phoenix-FEU take a 1-0 lead over Cafe France.
“Sabi nga ni coach, kailangan may mag-step up,” said Daquioag. “Ako yung wala sa team nung pumasok kami ng semis. Kailangan ko i-fill up yung gap.”
Since coming back from his injury late in the eliminations, the former University of Santo Tomas standout averaged 17.8 points per game.
And in the semifinals, he upped his scoring to 27.0 points in the two games against Caida Tile in the semifinals.
The 6-foot guard continued his torrid showing with an all-around performance in Game 1 where he got 16 markers, five rebounds, three assists, and two blocks to help Phoenix-FEU take an 82-78 conquest on Thursday.
Daquioag said he’s just happy to complement the FEU trio of Mac Belo, Mike Tolomia, and Roger Pogoy.
“Yung samahan namin dito yung nagpapadali sa lahat. Nagtulungan kami sa isa’t isa,” he said.
It also doesn’t hurt that he’s very much familiar with his teammates’ tendencies having played against them five times in the UAAP Season 78, thrice happening in a thrilling finals duel won by FEU.
“Yung laro nila, alam ko na rin. Kumbaga senyasan na lang. Mas maganda yung epekto kaya mas maganda din yung nilalaro namin,” he said.
And that, Daquioag said, should be the focal point in Phoenix-FEU’s quest of claiming the Aspirants Cup in this best-of-5 series.
“Ngayong championship, hindi naman pwede na si Mac o si Mike lang. Kailangan talaga namin silang tulungan.”