REELING from two straight losses, Magnolia refused to lose for the third straight time, especially with how the playing field has become in the PBA Philippine Cup.
“Parang backs against the wall kasi we don’t want na mag-1-3 because all the teams are improving such as Terrafirma, Blackwater, NLEX, and NorthPort,” Hotshots coach Chito Victolero said. “Maganda for the PBA. Maganda for the fans. I hope na iyong competition, sobrang ganda. You don’t expect kung sino ang mananalo.
“Sana, hanggang dulo, maging maayos iyong liga natin and iyong competition, sobrang tight. Ang ganda ng labanan. Even the first game, nakita niyo naman, talagang dikit. Iyan ang PBA,” he added.
Victolero spoke after Magnolia hacked out a 104-97 victory over hard-fighting NorthPort last Wednesday night to get back on track.
Victolero pointed to the aspects of his team’s game that told heavily on their defeats to the Ginebra Kings 77-87 last March 31 and to the NLEX Road Warriors 74-87 last six days back.
“Sa dalawang talo namin we limited our opponents under 90 pero hindi naman kami naka-score,” Victolero said. “Our problem in the last two games was our offense.
“So, we talked about improving our ball movement. We averaged 16 assists in those losses, short of our target of 22 to 24. Tonight, we had 31.”
Added star big man Ian Sangalang: “Naging wake-up call sa amin iyong dalawang sunod na talo.”
The 6-foot-7 Sangalang notched a career-high 32 points, to go with 13 rebounds for the Hotshots, who improved to 2-2 in the season-ending tilt.
James Laput added 14 markers and five boards for Magnolia, while Paul Lee and Jerrick Ahanmisi had 13 each.
Mark Barroca also finished with 12 points for the Hotshots, who snapped the Batang Pier’s four-game winning streak and fell to 4-2.
The return of mercurial forward Calvin Abueva from a one-game suspension also gave Magnolia a big lift since forwards Aris Dionisio and Rome Dela Rosa remained sidelined with ankle injuries.
“We missed him. The last time, they played small so hindi kami maka-match up,” Victolero said. “Actually, we missed three guys. Those guys– Aris, Rome, and Calvin– can play multiple positions. That’s why we had a hard time matching up against NLEX because of that.
“Talagang hirap kami. At the same time nga, hindi kami mabuo sa ensayo. Good thing na si Calvin naka-step up ngayon, nakatulong siya sa team. Hopefully magtuloy-tuloy.”
Abueva wound up with six points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and a block.
