Maliksi hopes Star capitalizes on surprising semis run

FILE — Allein Maliksi. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Allein Maliksi hopes that Star’s surprising run to the semifinals of the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup marks the beginning of the team’s resurgence.

The Hotshots, armed with a new coach and key players, pushed Tim Cone and Ginebra to the limit in the semis before bowing out in Game 7 after a 89-76 defeat Tuesday.

“I hope this is the start of Star’s return to the time when Purefoods was always a championship contender. We had a good start, so we hope to bring this on to the next conferences,” Maliksi said in Filipino.

READ: Ginebra makes PH Cup Finals, beats Star in Game 7

Star could’ve achieved more, though, especially with the momentum that came with being the no.2 seed entering the playoffs.

The Hotshots, who even had a 2-0 lead in the series, actually had two chances to close the series out but just could not deliver.

But despite exceeding expectations this conference, Maliski doesn’t want to think that it was an “overachievement” for the Hotshots.

READ: Ginebra-Star a tossup

“We’re here to play basketball and we have a common goal which is to win a championship. We can’t be contented with just making it to the semifinals For me, winning the championship is the ultimate goal,” he said.

The Hotshots are off to a good start under the guidance of Victolero, who has brought Star’d defensive identity.

“Last year, we had problems with our chemistry between players and coaches, but we don’t want to dwell on that. We want to focus on next conference and what happened this all-Filipino Cup and take it as a learning experience,” he said.

“We had a great conference. It’s just breaks of the game went against us and we can’t do anything about that.”