TO SAY that Magnolia's campaign so far in the PBA Commissioner's Cup has been rocky would be an understatement as it is now hard-pressed just to make it past the eliminations.
Rather than silently fade into the night, the Hotshots are now even more determined and a heightened sense of purpose when they take on Hong Kong Eastern Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
A second straight win by the guest team would raise its record to 8-3 and fan its hopes of vying for a top two slot that carries with it a twice-to-beat advantage over a lower-ranked team in the ensuing quarterfinals.
The Hong Kong-based cagers wind up the 12-game elimination round against NLEX on Wednesday with the former being relegated to the top four, which entails a best-of-three duel in the next round.
Currently toting a 4-6 slate, Magnolia needs to win against both Eastern and Meralco, at elims' end on Friday, just to get a shot at vying for the eighth and last quarterfinals spot.
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"Do-or-die kami talaga kami, pero at least nasa kamay pa namin destiny namin," said Hotshots coach Chito Victolero Saturday.
"We're just trying to live one game at a time kasi kalaban namin bukas maganda talaga itinatakbo," added Victolero. "So we're expecting na ganoon na naman: A grinding game, a close game."
Victolero is just hoping his team has finally gotten all its acts together from the ample rest it had following a 110-104 conquest of Phoenix last Jan. 16.
The Hotshots' six losses were decided by an average of only 3.5 points while they also have to scrape in their last three wins as they came out on top by an average of 5.0 points.
Now comes an Eastern side that is also well-rested after a 134-110 demolition of Terrafirma two Fridays ago. Making that guest team win more impressive is the fact it was fashioned despite Chris McLaughlin playing only for the first five minutes before sitting out the rest of the game due an ankle injury.
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The 6-10 Canadian has healed and recovered enough to see action against Magnolia, adding to Victolero's concerns.
"Iyang Eastern medyo bata at maganda shooting percentage nila," noted Victolero.
"Mahirap kapag kumunekta mga shooters nila mula sa labas kaya kailangan protektahan namin iyon," added Victolero. "Balanced rin kasi team nila in terms of halfcourt sets and transition so iyon mga pinag-aralan namin."
One welcome news for the Hotshots is that Paul Lee, who sat out their last two games due to a meniscus injury, is good to go anew and should help them in their first battle for survival.(NC)
