Victolero, Hotshots cautious over upcoming long break

Still in the hunt for a playoff spot in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup, Star is hoping that its 10-day break will work in its favor.

Coach Chito Victolero said that the Hotshots must be responsible during the breather as they eye to crack the top eight with three games remaining in their schedule.

“Almost all the teams have had long breaks, but it’s not an excuse,” he said on Friday after the team’s morning practice at Ronac Art Center in Ortigas. “We need to be responsible on how we’ll use our breaks. We’re now in the last stretch of the tournament so our next games are going to be vital.”

Coming off an 88-77 victory over TNT last Sunday, Star kept its quarterfinal hopes, tying Alaska and Ginebra for seventh place at 4-4.

Victolero is glad to see his players finally responding to his call, saying, “They’re excited and they’re preparing very hard for these coming games.”

With just a game separating teams ranked second to ninth, there’s still a puncher’s chance for the Hotshots to make a play for the top two spot.

However, the coach said that the team has already agreed to not think much of the standings and rather focus on their own campaign as they eye to sweep their final three games.

“We talked about being focused on our circle. We will not mind what’s happening outside of us, on the things we have no control on. What we can control is our game. If we think of those scenarios, we may get overwhelmed and not play our game. The only thing we need to focus is on our game,” he said.

And Victolero isn’t taking the next games lightly at all with Star set to Face Blackwater this Wednesday before before facing off against Meralco and Mahindra to end the eliminations.

“Our remaining games aren’t easy,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that we’re facing the bottom teams that those will be easy games. Our approach should be the same and the players know our situation. We have to be focused mentally. Hopefully, we can sustain our run up to our last games. But right now, our focus is to get win number five.”