EXPECT no less than a slugfest when Magnolia and Meralco, each practically fighting for dear life, collide Sunday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the PhilSports Arena.
The 3 p.m. match sees the Bolts trying to notch a second straight win that will jack their record to an even 5-5 and the Hotshots aiming to get back and track, improve to 6-3 and hopefully gain inclusion among the top eight advancing to the next round.
"We expect a grinding game again, a dogfight again. Lagi namang ganyan kapag Meralco. Tapos, pareho kaming backs against the wall. So very crucial game para sa both teams," said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero a day after his team's 91-98 loss to San Miguel Beer.
The loss meant Magnolia has to sweep its last three elims assignments, including the ones against Terrafirma on Friday and TNT two days later, to get to eight wins and claim a top two spot that has a win-once advantage in the quarterfinals.
Even a sweep may not be enough for Magnolia as it is also left hoping that neither of its previous conquerors in Barangay Ginebra and NLEX, 6-3 and 5-3, respectively, as of this posting, could only get to seven wins.
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If the Hotshots do not get to eight wins, the most they could hope for is to be relegated among the third to sixth spots, which will figure in best-of-three duels in the next round.
First things first for Victolero. "Wala pa kami sa quarterfinals kaya iyon muna target namin," he said.
Meralco's work is also cut out for it.
After improving to a 4-5 record following a 82-76 win over Phoenix Super LPG also last Friday, the Bolts still need to win against the Hotshots and Beermen on Saturday to secure a spot in the top six.
"Both games we have to win if we want to enter the top six," said Meralco's Luigi Trillo following the Phoenix game. "It's not gonna be easy."
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Both teams may field hobbled stars as Magnolia, already without the injured Jio Jalalon, also has Calvin Abueva a big question mark due to a right knee issue that limited him to less than seven minutes of action against SMB.
Meralco also has Allein Maliksi, Chris Newsome, and Cliff Hodge troubled by gimpy knees.
"It would be a matter of kung sino mag-i-step up sa ibang players," said Victolero. "Very positive naman kami and I think sa amin it would be a matter of how we execute our gameplan."
