Victolero: Magnolia ‘surrendered’ in endgame vs Phoenix

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Magnolia coach Chito Victolero rued the endgame blunders that led to the Hotshots’ 87-89 demise at the hands of the Phoenix Fuel Masters that spoiled their 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup debut.

“It’s our fault. We controlled the game, but we gave Phoenix a chance to come back,” Victolero said, as the Hotshots lost a 16-point third quarter lead, 62-46.

“We controlled the game up to the 46th minute and then, in the two minutes, we surrendered.”

Matthew Wright drained the go-ahead triple with 3.2 ticks left to give the Fuel Masters the 88-87 lead before Victolero inadvertently called a timeout he did not have, leading to a technical foul being charged to the Hotshots.

“During the huddle, I know there’s no more timeout but maybe, there was just a miscommunication between me and the committee table. Maybe it’s my mannerism so I think it’s my fault,” he said.

More than the gaffes late in the game, Victolero said that the game should serve as a lesson for Magnolia to perform better in the coming games, starting against GlobalPort next Saturday.

“Our loss didn’t start there. We were outrebounded and lost the battle with the second chance points,” he said, zooming in on Phoenix’s 25 offensive rebounds that led to 24 second chance points.

“It’s all on me,” he said, taking responsibility for the defeat. “We’ll just prepare for our next game and let’s move on. Those things happen. We just need to bounce back.”