At elims homestretch, Magnolia looks to avoid complications

ANTIPOLO—Coming off its first loss in weeks, Magnolia coach Chito Victolero feels that they’ve let one golden opportunity slip away.

“We want to have our fate in our hands,” Victolero told the Inquirer in Filipino during a break with fellow coaches as they mapped out a final game plan against TNT KaTropa on Friday at Ynares Center here. “Having our fate in our hands means winning against the [Texters].”

The Hotshots are tied for the lead with Barangay Ginebra and Alaska at 7-2, and will be battling the Gin Kings Sunday for what could be No. 1 spot should Magnolia hurdle the Texters in the 7 p.m. contest.

“Losing [to TNT] could push us into a series of complications if we also lose to Ginebra,” Victolero said. “To make the top four [for a twice-to-beat privilege] in that scenario, we would need to hope for some teams to lose some of their games. It’s better if we control our fate.”

Alaska is another side that has control of its fate, with the Aces to take the floor at 4:30 p.m. against NLEX, looking to break out of that logjam and seal the first quarterfinal bonus.

The Aces are coming off two straight victories and are favored against the Road Warriors, who welcomed Kevin Alas back last week from a long recovery from knee surgery.

The complications Victolero is talking about looms in the figure of mighty San Miguel Beer, the hottest team in the conference which is making a last-gasp stand to qualify in the top half of the draw and avoid needing to beat a higher-ranked team two straight times.

As things stand, the best that the Beermen could do is win seven games and for them to make the top four, they would need to beat the No. 4 team that would not win more than seven games for the last twice-to-beat slot in the quarterfinals.

The Aces, Hotshots and the Gin Kings are the only sides with shots at winning nine, although Magnolia and Ginebra will part ways because of their game on Sunday, which makes Victolero’s clash with the Texters Friday critical.

The Batang Pier bombed out from further contention on Wednesday after losing a tight one to San Miguel, joining Columbian in the showers, with Rain or Shine having a wafer-thin chance and the 4-6 Meralco Bolts needing to win their last game and hope for some teams to lose theirs for a playoff for the eighth and final slot.

Phoenix has seven wins in 10 games and is in the quarterfinals safely, but a loss in its last game against Blackwater could drop the Fuel Masters out of the upper half.