Hotshots to pull it off?
Defiance may well be the battle cry of the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against the powerhouse San Miguel Beermen (SMB).
With the huge odds confronting them going to the best-of-7 series which starts tomorrow, a bleak situation worsened by the loss of the team’s heart and soul – Marc Pingris – to a torn ACL, the Hotshots face the enviable task of bringing down a ballclub that appears to have no weak spot even up to the deepest end of its wellstocked bench.
But it may be too late to ponder any of that. And nobody is dwelling on what it would take to be able to put up more than just a gallant stand in the championship.
Grand Slam holdovers Mark Barroca, PJ Simon, Rafi Reavis and Ian Sangalang are joined by Paul Lee and Jio Jalalon as they attempt to put a mark on the Beermen’s unbeaten finals record under coach Leo Austria.
“Ngayong nasa finals na kami, hindi lang naman yun ang goal dito eh,” said Barroca during yesterday’s pre-Finals press conference at the Sambokojin Restaurant in Libis, Quezon City.
“Pang-apat na semis namin at nakapasok na rin, so over the hump nga. Yung target namin bahala na, bigay namin best namin ng finals.”
Doubtless, there’s more than just winning the PBA Philippine Cup – the league’s oldest and most prestigious tournament – that motivates both the Beermen and the Hotshots ahead of Game 1 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
San Miguel’s desire to enhance its status as one of the greatest teams of all-time and Magnolia’s bid to bring back the winning feeling it last savored in 2014 will be the main theme of the championship series that seemed like a race to earn the unofficial tag as “Team of the Decade.”
Under Austria, the Beermen currently hold the label of being the PBA’s model franchise, with six championships since 2014, including three straight titles in the conference commonly known as the All-Filipino.
SMB is back in the Philippine Cup finals with a shot at an unprecedented fourth consecutive crown, a feat unlike any other.