THE hectic part may be over for Magnolia in the PBA Philippine Cup. Now comes the hard part.
The Hotshots battle NorthPort today, headlining what promises to be an explosive triple-bill at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
San Miguel Beer and Phoenix Super LPG collide in the second game while defending champion Ginebra tangles with Alaska in the nightcap.
Each protagonist is driven by its own inherent motivation.
The Kings want to continue their rise in the standings, which started when they came from behind to beat Phoenix 94-87 last Wednesday to improve to 4-5 and a tie at seventh.
Japeth Aguilar, nursing an MCL sprain he suffered in a 67-88 loss to TNT last Sunday, is expected to sit it out again. But Alaska, currently at 11th on a 2-4 slate, has a bigger handicap.
Due to the league’s health and safety protocols, the Aces have been in quarantine since their last game on Sept. 2 and would have to play three games in as many days starting today. Worse, seven of coach Jeff Cariaso’s players would only be returning to the bubble today, just in time for the Ginebra game.
“This is crazy and exciting,” was how Cariaso put it upon learning of his team’s schedule.
San Miguel and Phoenix have their own concerns.
After bowing to Rain or Shine 93-95 last Sunday that dropped them to a 5-3 card the Beermen hope to get back on track and from there stay in the hunt for the No. 2 spot, which, like sure eliminations topnotcher TNT, would be rewarded with a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
With that loss to Ginebra, the 4-6 Fuel Masters simply want to finish the eliminations with a bang and hope five wins would be enough to play off for a quarterfinals slot.
Magnolia has the same goal as SMB.
“Very crucial game para sa amin, to secure a playoff spot and also have a chance at the No. 2 spot,” said Hotshots coach Chito Victolero. “I think seven wins secure the quarterfinals spot kaya very crucial talaga ang game.”
Currently running third with a 6-3 record, Magnolia winds up the eliminations against SMB on Saturday.
Whether eight wins would be enough to take No. 2 and be rewarded with a twice-to-beat advantage over the seventh-ranked team in the quarterfinals is a bridge Victolero would cross once he gets to it.
“Hindi na namin kontrolado iyon,” reasoned Victolero. “Basta ang mind-set namin kung ano may control kami, ‘yung nasa harapan lang namin, iyon lang iintindihin namin.”
NorthPort is a big enough concern.
The Batang Pier saw their recent winning run cut short at three after losing to TNT 92-102 last Wednesday. With an even 4-4 card, they must rack up more wins not only against Magnolia but also against Rain or Shine on Sunday and Alaska next week to secure their place in the top eight.
After playing five games in 10 days Magnolia got some very welcome time off since a sorry 72-75 loss to Rain or Shine last Friday and Victolero spent much of that time drawing up a basic gameplan focused mostly on NorthPort’s main player.
“We need to contain the NorthPort players, lalo na si (Robert) Bolick,” bared Victolero.
“Although Bolick is their leader and scorer, kumbaga siya talaga pinupuntahan nila, the other guys can also step up, tulad nila (Kevin) Ferrer, (Sean) Anthony, (Paolo) Taha, even (Sydney) Onwubere. So it will be all about our team defense and at the same time focus mostly on Bolick.”
