Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
With four games left in its elimination round schedule in the PBA Governors’ Cup, Star is a powerhouse side that has suddenly been taken out of top four talk.
And coach Chito Victolero knows that he and his Hotshots cannot get back into that conversation with just one fell swoop.
“All of our last four games are important, it’s actually a must-win for us starting (Friday),” Victolero said as the Hotshots tangle with back-to-the-wall GlobalPort to try and snap a three-game losing streak that will put the Hotshots back in contention for a twice-to-beat privilege.
“But we need to take it one game at a time,” he said as Star takes to the Smart Araneta Coliseum floor opposite the Batang Pier in the 7 p.m. contest, where a grieving Stanley Pringle makes his return from a two-game absence to help GlobalPort in its own bid to stay alive for a playoff berth.
Pringle went to the US to attend to his ailing father.
Victolero has fingered the very reason why his Hotshots, after four straight wins to open up the season-ending conference, have slipped.
“Our rebounding has let us down. We’re worst in the league,” Victolero said, even if his crew is one of the beefiest, tallest in the league. “That’s something we need to address. We have been outrebounded by an average of 15 (by our last three foes).”
Meralco is a side that is in top four contention, and the Bolts will try to strengthen their place when they clash with streaking Alaska in the 4:15 p.m. contest.
With a 6-2 record, the Bolts are running second behind Barangay Ginebra and they would need to win at least two of their last three games in order to have a shot at that twice-to-beat advantage.
“Our ability to handle their (Aces’) pressure defense will be one of the keys for us,” Meralco’s Norman Black said. “And once again, we will rely on our defense to try and get the win.”
The Aces, meanwhile, need to extend their three-game winning streak just to have some sort of buffer in advancing.
Star will still have to face TNT KaTropa, ousted KIA Picanto and then NLEX to close out the eliminations, and Victolero knows that nothing less than a sweep will do it.