Star enters a grueling eight-day stretch in its PBA Commissioner’s Cup schedule, which could be considered tough in itself for most teams.
For coach Chito Victolero, however, this is just the calm before the storm.
“The heavyweight teams are in the tailend of our schedule,” Victolero told the Inquirer Thursday afternoon, minutes after wrapping up the Hotshots’ preparations for their clash with winless but dangerous NLEX in the eliminations at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We need to string together wins, and this game will be very important for us,” he said as Star takes the Big Dome floor at 7 p.m. Friday, not wanting to be the Road Warriors’ first victims and stretch a 2-0 start that would keep the Hotshots in the upper half of the standings.
“There are a lot of teams ahead of us, even if we are also unbeaten,” he explained, referring to Meralco and Alaska. “This (game versus the Road Warriors) will be a great confidence builder for us and we will not take them lightly.”
Blessed with a loaded local crew and a talented import in Tony Mitchell, the Hotshots will undoubtedly come into this game as the solid picks to prevail. But Victolero knows what any Yeng Guiao team is capable of doing.
“They’re always ready. Like any team coach Yeng handles,” he said.
The Hotshots will play three games in the next eight days starting with the Road Warriors.
The last game of Star’s schedule will be against Barangay Ginebra, which would be their first meeting since their classic seven-game Final Four series in the Philippine Cup won in upset style by the Gin Kings.
“I refuse to look into that this early,” Victolero said when asked if his Hotshots are in any way eager to get on with that matchup and settle an old score. “Our focus right now is on NLEX and Mahindra after that.
“We like to look at the whole picture of our schedule. It’s one game at a time for us.”
Meanwhile, TNT KaTropa tries to win back-to-back games for the first time here, clashing with retooled Blackwater in the 4:15 p.m. contest.
Donte Greene will debut for the Texters.