Back in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup, there were two undeniable stars that stood out during the tournament — Phoenix Super LPG’s Justin Chua and NLEX’s Raul Soyud.
Both big men had breakout years with the 6-foot-6 Chua norming 11.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks to earn the Top D-Fender award while the 6-foot-6 Soyud had career-highs of 10.0 points and 6.82 boards per contest.
It also gave them Gilas invites for the cancelled Doha bubble of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
Fast forward to a year and two months later, both big men are still trying to regain their form from the 2020 All-Filipino tournament.
Chua is averaging 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in eight games so far in the ongoing Governors’ Cup while Soyud is putting up just 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in five games played.
Now together in NLEX, Chua is hoping that he and Soyud lift each other up.
After all, they both hail from Bacolod.
Photo by PBA Images
“Sobrang excited ako na makasama siya,” said Chua, who is a year older than Soyud. “Kasi during the last two bubbles, we always talk kasi we are both from Bacolod. There are similarities and we also play the same in some ways.
“I think we can really complement each other.”
Besides playing with his good pal, Chua is also looking forward to being under the tutelage of decorated head coach Yeng Guiao.
This will be the first time in his nine-year career that he will be under Guiao. And he hopes that he can help sustain the run NLEX is having in the tournament.
Photo by PBA images
“Actually sa system din ni Coach Yeng ako excited since I think I would be a good fit in what he reallly wants. Sana maka-contribute talaga ako.
“Ready na ko sa mga mura niya actually. Yun naman sinasabi ng mga tao na he is really expressive. Yun yung pine-prepare ko ngayon kaya nagpapamura na ko sa asawa ko,” quipped Chua.
Chua will be making his NLEX debut on Friday against Ginebra at 6:00 PM.
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