MAGNOLIA showcased its readiness for the quarterfinals of the import-less tilt by getting one—a big victory—over TNT last Friday night.
For Hotshots coach Chito Victolero, his wards showed they wanted inclusion in the top four, which will be rewarded with a twice-to-beat advantage more than the grand slam-seeking Tropang 5G.
“Iyon ang mentality namin. From the preparation, I want them to feel the playoff atmosphere. I trusted my players. Whenever backs against the wall or do-or-die games, I trusted the guys that they will perform their very best. Credit to them all. Talagang pinag-handaan nila,” Victolero said. “Credit to all the players dahil sila naman iyan. Sila nag-execute, sila dumepensa, sila nag-usap. Kami, guidance lang naman kami, preparation lang. But all of them, it boils down to the players and credit to them because they work hard.
“It’s 48 minutes. If you don’t play 48 minutes against this champion team, you will not survive. So, it’s a learning experience. Again, down the stretch, we relaxed a little bit because akala namin panalo na. Nagkaroon pa sila ng chance. But ano pa rin, credit to the players because up to the last minute of the game, last second of the game, we played our very best,” he added.
Victolero’s sentiments came on the heels of Magnolia’s 88-83 victory over TNT that allowed the Hotshots to wind up the eliminations of the PBA Philippine Cup with an 8-3 card.
Victolero pointed to the improving jiving of his players with new prized addition William Navarro as one of the keys in their bid to win it all since the Governors’ Cup in 2018.
“Sana when the playoffs start, at least maganda na iyong chemistry. Gumaganda na iyong chemistry sa practices. We do some stuff inside and outside the court na ginagawa namin para maging maganda iyong chemistry ng team,” Victolero said.
“We’ll be ready for the playoffs, kahit sino ‘yung makalaban namin. Iyon naman ‘yung goal namin, go to the playoffs and then anybody’s ballgame pagdating doon.”
In stark contrast, the loss brought down the Tropang 5G to 6-5—outside the coveted Magic Four—and will have their backs pushed against the wall with a win-once handicap in the Last Eight that begins this week.
Victolero disclosed his squad holds a bonding once a week, and that will be more frequent if and when Magnolia goes deep in the playoffs.
“We have a once-a-week bonding. Either we will eat outside; last time, we watched a movie. We watched a movie, “Ballerina.” It’s a team bonding and we want everyone to, you know, makalimutan muna iyong basketball. Outside of basketball, ano iyong pwede naming gawin,” he said. “Iyon iyong mga activity na ginagawa namin kasi kailangan din naming mabuo with Navarro.
“So, hopefully, magbunga iyong mga extra na ginagawa namin para mabuo iyong team chemistry namin.”
