Despite having only three weeks of preparation, coach Ato Agustin’s Excelroof showed a lot of promise when it pulled an upset win against last year’s runner up Ascof Lagundi at the start of the 2010 PBL PG Flex-Erase Placenta Cup.

The 25ers, made up of players of NCAA champion San Sebastian Stags, bucked the odds and the jitters to eke out an 82-73 win over the Natural Cough Busters last Tuesday.

The victory made the 25ers instant title contenders.

“We’ll take it one game at a time. Hindi naman namin masasabi na makafinals kami. Bago yan kailangan namin magwork hard at mag-focus,” Agustin said. “For now, our goal is to make it to the top four.”

NCAA Finals Most Valuable Player Jimbo Aquino and Calvin Abueva led the way for Excelroof, firing 17 and 13 points, respectively.

Point guard Pamboy Raymundo did his share churning out a double-double performance of 10 points and 11 rebounds aside from dishing out five assists.

Ronald Pascual added 13 points.

The 25ers, owned by Edwin Chua, is one of two new teams that won in their maiden game in the PBL.

Cossack Blue, bannered by seven players from University of the East, relied on the 11-point, 17-rebound performance of ex-San Beda center JR Taganas to defeat fellow newcomer FERN-C, 81-77, in the other game.

The Spirits’ victory spoiled a 26-point performance from NCAA Most Valuable Player John Wilson and the coaching debut of former Ginebra player Bal David.