AT first glance, Magnolia’s 104-87 victory over San Miguel Beer last Sunday could be viewed as the Hotshots’ way of redeeming themselves from a sorry loss the last time out in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
But there’s another and perhaps a deeper reason for the impressive performance.
“Gusto namin na going to the playoffs we’ll have that proper mindset,” explained Magnolia coach Chito Victolero after the game watched by 3,561 paying fans at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. “We talked about the last game, we talked about the proper mindset, the playoff mentality. Iyan ‘yung mga ipinakita nila.”
There’s a good reason why Victolero and his team are looking that far ahead.
After improving their record to 7-1, the Hotshots firmed up their hold on the lead but also practically assured themselves of a spot in the top four and a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
Their mindset would sure come in handy during the playoffs, where Magnolia expects go deep and even reclaim the crown it last won in 2018.
“Iyun talaga ultimate goal,” Victolero said. “Of course, lahat ng mag-a-advance puro tough teams kaya kailangan talaga ngayon pa lang hasa na team mo.”
Winning big against an SMB team coming off back-to-back wins and parading a new import in former five-year NBA campaigner Shabazz Muhammad is sure to boost Magnolia moving forward.
Magnolia also bounced back from a shock 101-103 loss to NorthPort last Thursday in a game where the Batang Pier pounced on the Hotshots’ bad start to lead by as many as 19 points before scraping through on a missed triple try by Paul Lee in the last second.
The defeat served as additional motivation for the Hoshots, after having their best start under Victolero cut short.
“We just tried to bounce back hard in this game. It’s a character game for us,” said the former Coach of the Year awardee.
“Pinag-usapan namin to just try to move forward. We knew we had a bad start last game. Although we finished strong, but ‘yun nga, kinapos kami,” added Victolero. “So going to this game we talked about how we will start strong and the need to finish stronger.”
Lee made sure of that, scattering 15 of his 26 points in the second period to spearhead Magnolia’s surge out of a 23-25 bind and into a 57-44 lead.
Import Mike Harris took over in the second half where he scored 20 of his 26 points. His jumper with 8:40 left gave Magnolia a 91-67 bulge that the team’s defense made sure was ample enough.
Muhammad, tapped to replace Orlando Johnson, finished with game-highs of 27 points and 17 rebounds in his PBA debut. But he needed 28 shots to reach his total and also committed eight turnovers against a defense hastily designed by Victolero and his staff.
