MR. EVERYTHING WORKING ON HOTSHOTS’ 3RD STRAIGHT GOVS’ CUP TITLE
No stranger to winning titles, it was an odd feeling for Marqus Blakely seeing his team Purefoods fall in four games to Talk ‘N Text in the Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
Watching from the sidelines as Jayson Castro almost singlehandedly blasted the Star Hotshots, the 6-foot-4 reinforcement felt helpless as his team got the boot.
“We know that we have the talent, the pieces to win a championship. It’s just all of us getting in the same page and executing, that’s what we need to do,” said Blakely.
In a couple of weeks, it will be his turn to lead the Hotshots’ defense of the Governors’ Cup, of which they are the two-time defending champs.
“We need to remember how we feel at this point because the next conference, we don’t want this to happen again,” Blakely said. “The quicker we get over it, the more you can grow from it, learn from it and be better as a team.”
The 26-year-old multi-faceted performer christened “Mr. Everything” said that this humbling experience should serve as a motivation for the crew which just last year, won a Grand Slam.
“It’s definitely not what we’re used to, but at the same time, you can’t win everything. You’re gonna have a target on your back, especially when you win a Grand Slam and have championships underneath your belt. We just have to understand that we have to bring our A-game everyday and know that people are gunning for us,” Blakely said.
“When you win, it’s easy to relax. We have to remind ourselves of the smaller things that make us a championship-caliber team. Not just a good team, not just winning elimination games or getting to the semis, but we want championships and winning our defense battles, that’s what we want.”
While his left shoulder still needs some work after he injured it in the stages of the Commissioner’s Cup, the short respite will most certainly help. But Blakely assured Purefoods fans that he and the team will be up and running when the Governors’ Cup opens on May 5.
“We wanna work out on things and the bad habits we had and the little, minor details. I don’t think we’ll be taking too much time off. Maybe a little bit just to get away from the game and get back hungry,” he said. “I’m already practicing with the team and strengthening my shoulder when they were working on this series. But I’ll be ready for the third conference.” (RL)
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