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After a bum start to the season, there’s no doubt that Star is peaking at the right time.
And the luck of the draw seems to favor the Hotshots more than any other team still in the running for No. 2 ranking in the PBA Philippine Cup playoffs.
Paul Lee scored 13 fourth quarter points and, together with Allein Maliksi, hurt Blackwater from afar Wednesday night as the Hotshots scooted to a 111-95 victory at Cuneta Astrodome that gave Star the inside track in the multiple-team battle for the second twice-to-beat privilege in the quarterfinals.
Starting out 0-2 under new coach Chito Victolero, and having a losing record after seven games, the Hotshots won a second straight game and jacked up their record to 5-4.
With also-ran teams remaining in their elimination round schedule, Star looks poised to join San Miguel Beer with a win-once bonus in the first round.
The loss was the sixth in 11 games for the Elite, who will now await the results of the remaining games to see where they fall in the quarterfinals.
“I pray that we can take the momentum of this win (in our last two games),” Victolero said, referring to outings against Meralco and Mahindra this Saturday and Wednesday, respectively. “I know the boys are mentally tough, they know what the situation is (for us) and they know what to do.”
The Hotshots can end up with a 7-4 record with victories over Meralco and Mahindra and they could end up tied for the second-best record with either Alaska or Rain or Shine, TNT KaTropa and idle Phoenix Petroleum.
Phoenix actually has a 6-4 record and was caught in second spot by the Texters, who clipped the Batang Pier, 102-98, in the nightcap.
Alaska and the Fuel Masters collide tomorrow and whoever loses that game will fall out of the running for No. 2, same with the Batang Pier, who dropped to a level 5-5 card.
What puts Star in a good position for the No. 2 spot is that it destroyed Phoenix by 44 points in their elimination round clash, and if they tie for second, the Hotshots get the berth by virtue of the winner-over-other rule. Should Phoenix, Star and a third team end up with 7-4 records, the Hotshots would get the inside track via the quotient system because of that 44-point victory.
Victolero, though, refuses to look beyond his clash with Norman Black and the Bolts.
“Of course, the big picture is No. 2 (seeding),” he said. “But Meralco is a very scary team. They beat Rain or Shine and we have to learn from that.”
The schedule also has something special stored in a personal way for Victolero, who was the coach of Mahindra, then the KIA Enforcers, before he was unceremoniously relieved of duty.
Wouldn’t that be perfect for him to gain a twice-to-beat privilege at the expense of his former team?
“I would be happy, yes,” Victolero said. “But only because we can claim No. 2 (seeding) and not because I beat my former team.”