Playing small could be Magnolia’s gambit

With the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-7 Finals tied at 1-1, Magnolia coach Chito Victolero said yesterday what could break the defending champion San Miguel Beer’s momentum is playing small behind a three-guard rotation but as Justin Melton is out for the rest of the series, his absence throws a monkey wrench into the plan.

“Our strength is playing small with our regular three-guard rotation,” said Victolero, referring to Mark Barroca, Melton and Jio Jalalon. “But Justin is gone. Our physical therapists estimate four weeks for his recovery. Kailangan namin talaga yung defense ni Justin plus his aggressiveness. Sayang at medyo kulang ang rotation ko sa backcourt but we will stay positive.” Melton hurt his hamstring during the NLEX semifinal series and played in only two of the six games. But in the Finals opener that Magnolia took, 105-103, at the Big Dome last Friday, Melton came off the bench only to strain his hamstring again. He sat out Game 2 which San Miguel won, 92-77, at the MOA Arena last Sunday and won’t be back in uniform until next conference.

Veteran P. J. Simon is an option for Victolero to rotate in a small lineup. Paul Lee, Rome de la Rosa and Rob Herndon are considered big guards. “I think we have a little advantage because of our deep guard rotation,” said Victolero. “We’ll try different combinations habang tumatagal ang series.”

Victolero described De la Rosa as the Hotshots’ best wing defender. “I try to teach him to be a two-way player,” he said. “He’s improving a lot in his offense, outside shots and inside presence. But yung depensa natural sa kaniya kasi college pa lang yun ng ginagawa niya.” De la Rosa hit 11 points in Game 1 and seven in Game 2.

In Games 1 and 2, Victolero started Kyle Pascual as June Mar Fajardo’s primary defender. Others who gave Fajardo different defensive looks were Ian Sangalang, Rafi Reavis and Rodney Brondial. “Regarding Kyle as a starter, depende kasi sa match-up and adjustments,” said Victolero. “I don’t have regular starters. Since I took over the team, the players know that anytime, they could start so they’re always ready. That’s why I think we’re in the top two in the league in bench scoring.”

Victolero said the factors that will propel Magnolia to victory are desire, consistent aggressiveness, team defense, execution on both ends and chemistry. “We know from the start that San Miguel is the No. 1 seed, everybody knows that,” he said. “I’m OK that we’re the underdog in the Finals because we just need to find ways how to win games. We need to dig deep and look for other or different options to battle and compete with this elite San Miguel team.”