Magnolia Coach Victolero says defense key in Game 2
BOTH sides agree the series has just started.
But now comes the more critical Game Two where the Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots will be out to prove they're for real, and the San Miguel Beermen have to respond or they could fall in a deeper hole in the PBA Philippine Cup bestof-seven title series.
Game Two is set Friday, 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum with the Hotshots still the underdogs but now fired-up by their 99-94 triumph in the series opener Wednesday.
"Kapag nakadalawang sunod kami diyan, mag-iisip na yan na kaya namin silang talunin," said Magnolia ace frontcourt player Ian Sangalang.
The Hotshots made a decisive run in the third quarter and warded off all the comeback tries the Beermen could muster as Magnolia nailed only its second win over SMB in their last 12 head-on matches in the all-Filipino tourney.
Knowing their capabilities, the Beermen shrugged off the Game One loss.
"Okay lang yun. Good thing na best-of-seven ito. Marami pa kaming time na mag-adjust then bounce back lang next game," said June Mar Fajardo, also putting behind him his giant effort - 35 points and 21 rebounds -- that went to waste.
"Sayang, natalo kami. Pero kailangan lang talaga mag-bounce back. Kailangan namin maging positive," said Fajardo.
A positive thought for
the gentle giant is that they lost by just two possessions on a night the SMB gunners struggled with a mere 25-percent three-point shooting (9-of-36). “Paano kung naka-shoot lang kami ng dalawang three-point shots?” said Fajardo in hindsight.
But the Hotshots are not about to sit on their laurels, knowing they need to continue to work hard to be able to repeat.
“Kailangan namin magpatuloy mag-trabaho and we have to trust each other and continue to believe,” said Sangalang.
For Magnolia coach Chito Victolero, it’s about working hard especially on the defensive end.
“I talked to the players at halftime, reminding them we can’t beat San Miguel on offense. They just scored 55 points in the first half and although we’re able to score, too, we weren’t able to assert our identity, which is defense. I’m very happy they responded to the challenge, played good defense in the second half and limited them to under 100 points. That’s the key against the offensiveminded Beermen,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero shortly after Game One.
SMB coach Leo Austria acknowledged the defensive effort of the Hotshots whom limited his troops to 32-of-85 clip (37.6 percent).
“If you look at the stats, you’ll see our shooting percentage, our shot selection was not good. I have to give credit to our opponent, it was their defense that made this possible,” said Austria. “Fortunately, it’s only Game One and it was not a knockout series.”