Crucial stretch

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Magnolia is now playing with a sense of urgency—as what the Hotshots should do, with playoff positioning in the PBA Philippine Cup entering its crucial stages.

“I told them that it was imperative to have a sense of urgency, to switch our mind-set to that of the playoffs,” coach Chito Victolero said as his Hotshots clash with Columbian on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

Magnolia will be coming off an ego-boosting win over Alaska last Saturday, a 103-86 ripping of the Aces that got it on track for this crucial push as it tries to creep closer to the playoffs and qualify on a level playing field.

“I trust my players that every time they find themselves in situations like this, they step up to the plate and lock in on the things that we need to do,” he added as Magnolia, the reigning Governors’ Cup champion, tries to start climbing out of the bottom half of the 12-team pack and contend like one of the favorites that it is.

He would have loved playing at Ynares Center in Antipolo again, since it was there that they displayed their sharpest form yet in dispatching the Aces.

At 2-4, the Hotshots need to string up victories in a jiffy in order to avoid advancing with a twice-to-win burden against a top two team.

And they will find the Dyip as formidable foes with the franchise in serious contention of finally making the playoffs for the first time.

“The road won’t be easy,” Victolero said ahead of the clash with the Dyip. “Hopefully, we pull through. We just have to do it a game at a time and prepare well.”

Magnolia is a notable powerhouse that is struggling in this conference, and its last four games after this one will be against sides also chasing playoff berths and not to be taken lightly.

The injury-plagued Aces, meanwhile, also try to enhance their playoff bid, colliding with back-to-the-wall NLEX in the 7 p.m. contest.

Alaska will be coming off a performance against the Hotshots that it would rather forget and move on.

“They deserved it. They just handled us,” Aces coach Alex Compton, who with shrugs and head shakes also noted that he’s bracing for a treacherous path ahead as they battle TNT KaTropa and San Miguel Beer in two of their last four games.

And while many could see the match against NLEX and coach Yeng Guiao as an easy one, considering that the Road Warriors are at 2-5, Compton sees it in an entirely different light.

“[Do I feel] relief playing against the national team coach? I feel none whatsoever,” Compton said.

“It’s exactly the opposite. Everybody has toughness, everybody’s a competitor in this league and when teams are down, that’s when they’re particularly dangerous,” he added.