Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero pointed out that it was the second quarter of their Philippine Cup quarterfinals opener versus the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel that turned things around for the Hotshots in a bad way on Saturday.
After a tight battle in the first 12 minutes, the Gin Kings came alive in the following frame. They unloaded a 20-2 scoring blitz en route to a commanding 37-20 lead, which would balloon to as big as 21, 50-29, early in the third.
“Yung second quarter, yun kailangan namin ayusin. Ganoon din ‘yung nangyari noong elimination,” recalled Victolero of their first encounter last March 17, where they went down by 15 points in the second frame. They eventually lost in OT, 93-97.
“Yung second quarter ang medyo kailangan naming ayusin, kasi ‘yun yung quarter ang medyo natalo kami. First, third, fourth quarter medyo panalo pa nga yun sa’min eh,” furthered the seasoned bench strategist.
Victolero also felt that his chargers weren’t in rhythm on offense. He referenced the numbers, as the Hotshots shot just 35 percent from the field, including a measly 7-of-30 shooting from beyond the arc.
“Wala yung rhythm, wala yun timing. Tapos apektado yung depensa namin because yun nga, siguro because yung offense namin, iniisip masyado yung mga ‘di pumapasok, or madaming forced shots,” Victolero said.
“So hindi masyadong nagiging solid yung depensa namin. So yun, kailangan namin ayusin on both ends.”
Still, the reigning Coach of the Year isn’t throwing in the towel. His sights are now focused on Game Two on Monday at SMART Araneta Coliseum, where they plan to stay close with the Gin Kings in order to give themselves a chance.
“Kailangan lang naming maging close yung game para medyo may chance naman kami sa dulo. So yun yung goal namin: we need to stay close, stay close. Kasi ngayon, medyo sama ng laro namin. So yun lang goal namin sa Game Two,” he said.
“It’s a best-of-three, so buhay pa. May pag-asa pa.”
