WITH its back against the ropes, Magnolia needs to show up with the biggest of hearts on Valentine’s Day to keep its title dreams alive.

“I feel good. We came down from 0-2 (to tie it). We could do it again. We could win two more games, why not?” posed Hotshots import Tyler Bey said. “We’re a great team. I don’t feel like our backs are against the wall. We’re down one and they have one more game to go.
“But I believe in this team, I believe in the coaching staff, and I believe in myself as well so (I’m) pretty confident,” he added.
Magnolia tries to forge a winner-take-all game when it takes on San Miguel Beer tonight in Game 6 of their best-of-7 finals showdown for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The match is set at 7:30 p.m., with the Beermen raring to wrap up the race-to-4 series with another win–a fitting encore to a 108-98 triumph in the fifth tiff last Sunday night that moved SMB within a victory of the Promised Land for the first time in the same edition of the import-spiced tilt since 2019.
The Beermen, the pro league’s winningest squad, are also seeking their 29th title overall.
A deciding Game 7, if necessary, will be played on Friday, Feb. 16, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Veteran playmaker Mark Barroca said the Hotshots are still in high spirits despite trailing 2-3 in the Big Dance.
“Positive pa rin kami na makabalik kami,” Barroca said.
Aside from Bey and Barroca, the likes of Paul Lee, Jio Jalalon, Ian Sangalang, and Calvin Abueva are expected to spearhead Magnolia’s fightback.
SMB reinforcement Bennie Boatwright said they are bracing for the Hotshots with their fans as their motivation.
“We expect it to be a tough game. We’ll go out there and be ready,” Boatwright said.
“We love all the fans. They gave us a lot of energy out there. I definitely feel about them (when) playing. It’s exciting going out there and playing.”
Boatwright will link up with reigning-seven-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, Best Player of the Conference CJ Perez, Jericho Cruz, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross, Simon Enciso, and Mo Tautuaa.
Bey said they cannot let their guard down after Cruz sizzled with 30 points the last time out–or else this could be over.
“We can’t just let guys go off for 30. We got to respect everybody on their team,” he said.
“Cruz got off with eight treys. He had a great game, and he did what he had to do.