Doing everything right the past three weeks, Magnolia shoots for a quarterfinal bonus in the playoffs on Friday night against a Meralco side that is battling for dear life in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Ahead of the 12-team pack with a 7-1 record and unbeaten in their last five games, the Hotshots will come into the 7 p.m. match at Ynares Center in Antipolo as the overwhelming choice against the short-handed Bolts, who are in a one-miss-you-die situation.
And coach Chito Victolero believes that being in that situation is what makes Meralco a very dangerous customer.
“We know their situation—that they cannot afford another loss,” Victolero said. “And for me, that’s what makes them very dangerous when we play them. We have to make sure that we can match their (Bolts) desire and intensity.”
Victolero wants to go at least 2-1 in their last three outings to seal a twice-to-beat privilege in the quarterfinals with at least six teams still in the running for a top four berth.
“We want to just keep on winning and prepare for the playoffs,” Victolero said as his Hotshots, after the Meralco clash, will still have to go through TNT KaTropa and Barangay Ginebra, which is at 7-2 and also wants to seal a place in the top four.
Tournament format calls for the top four teams after the elimination round to advance to the playoffs needing to win just once over lower-ranked foes to march on to the Final Four.
Meralco, right now, is hardly concerned about the playoff bonus and is focused on merely making the playoffs and dealing with the handicap later on.
After dropping six games in a row, the Bolts finally carved out a win last Sunday and fanned their wafer-thin hopes of advancing.
Coach Norman Black knows that it’s an uphill climb with the Bolts needing to sweep the Hotshots, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and then the mighty San Miguel Beermen, in that order, to entertain thoughts of staying alive.
The Painters are another team on a roll despite some internal problems concerning blue-chip center Raymond Almazan.
With a two-game winning streak, Rain or Shine is favored to make it three straight after its 4:30 p.m. clash with out-of-it-all Columbian.