Magnolia coach Chito Victolero is treating his team's final two elimination round matches in the PBA Commissioner's Cup with a do-or-die mentality after being crushed by Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in their Manila Clasico showdown Sunday night.
The Hotshots fell 104-84 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum for their fourth defeat in the last five outings, dropping to a tie for seventh and eighth places with the Columbian Dyip at 4-5 while holding a half-game lead over Ginebra (3-5).
Victolero and his crew will take a two-week break before facing NLEX on July 4 and defending champion San Miguel on July 7.
"Last game namin (against TNT KaTropa) do-or-die, ngayong game namin (against Ginebra) do-or-die din. Our next game, we will treat it as a do-or-die," said Victolero.
"Yung effort naman, andyan lahat e. I think yung discipline lang namin. But icocorrect namin yun," he added. "Ang maganda, we have a chance pa naman. It's still in our hands, so we will just try to prepare hard for our next game and I think we have a lot of time kasi it's a 17-day break sa amin."
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Magnolia has been struggling since the departure of original import Vernon Macklin after a 3-1 start. Curtis Kelly failed to give the Hotshots a win in his two appearances while Jackson won just once since his arrival when the Hotshots pummeled TNT, 111-89, last Wednesday.
The Hotshots are expected to welcome back Ian Sangalang, who missed the previous five games with a fractured right hand, after the break to reinforce the depleted frontline.(JT)
