THERE was no sign of panic on Magnolia coach Chito Victolero and his charges despite Phoenix dragging the duel into a nip-and-tuck tiff last night.
Even the usually prolific Hotshots import Tyler Bey had to bleed for buckets and work doubly hard clearing the boards against the Fuel Masters.
Given fits by a gritty and worthy opponent, Magnolia was forced to work doubly hard and was rewarded with an 82-79 win in Game 1 of their best-of-5 semifinals battle in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Hotshots star Paul Lee fell into a trap on the left wing by the leech-like defense of Fuel Master Jason Perkins, but Bey moved like a Houdini inside the paint, caught Lee’s pass, and rose for a layup while drawing a foul on Javee Mocon.
Bey completed the three-point play that pegged an 81-78 count with 1:27 left–a cushion that proved to be enough after Perkins’s last-gasp three-point try missed at the buzzer.
Despite being the favorites in the race-to-3 series, Victolero is convinced a stint in the Big Dance will not be given to them on a silver platter by Phoenix and his belief was further boosted by their hard-earned triumph that came on the heels of a 109-94 dumping of TNT in their quarterfinal showdown last week.
The Fuel Masters went into the match armed with an 88-84 decision over Meralco four nights back, also in the Last Eight.
“It’s our game plan to limit the (opponent’s) score to under 90 points because that’s our average in points allowed and we’re doing it the whole conference. We’re the No. 1 team in defense so we want it to be like that,” Victolero said. “Hopefully, buong series ganoon so we’ll have a big chance of winning the game. Regarding our score, we also had a hard time scoring because they disrupted our offense.
“Coach Jamike (Jarin) did a good job disrupting our offense and rhythm. Good thing we focused on being solid and locked in on defense that’s why iyong breaks of the game napunta sa amin because of our hustle and aggressiveness down the stretch,” he added.
Bey notched 23 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists–slightly below his norms of 28.8 markers, 14.0 boards, and 2.2 dimes in 12 games in the season-opening tilt for Magnolia, while Lee backed him up with 11 and five.
