FILE — Career night for Allein Maliksi. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Coach Chito Victolero has always said that Star’s miscues could either make or break the team.
Those words were stuck in Allein Maliksi’s mind after the Hotshots’ 97-90 loss to Alaska last January 11, where he shot a woeful 6-of-16 clip from the field, so he made it a point to atone for his miscues.
“I challenged myself to improve my shooting and focused on everything I could do to better my percentage.”
And the results of his hardwork showed on the floor.
As Star racked up four straight wins to end the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup eliminations, Maliksi also averaged 24.3 points during the stretch on a 63-percent shooting from three and 64-percent clip from the field.
His tremendous run saw its peak on Wednesday, when the former Santo Tomas forward nabbed his career-high 33 points on a stellar 7-of-8 shooting from three in the Hotshots’ 124-87 rout of Mahindra.
“I was trying to get my career-high in our lasts two games but those were blowouts so coach didn’t field us in late. I’m thankful that I finally got that.”
It shouldn’t come a surprise that with Maliksi leading the charge, Star is blowing by its opponents convincingly by an average margin of 27.75 points.
But for the 29-year-old gunner, the winning streak should be attributed to the team finally feeling comfortable under Victolero’s system as the Hotshots gained momentum towards the playoffs.
“Actually, our chemistry has been good. Our confidence is on a high. One more thing going our way is that we’re pulling ourselves up and we’re not dragging ourselves down.”
Personally, Maliksi is just enjoying the moment he hopes to sustain the momentum going into the quarterfinals.
“I want to improve my level of basketball. This is my chance to grab the break and ghe opportunity given to me.”