Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Never tell Chito Victolero and his charges the odds.
Magnolia has defied narratives over and over again in the PBA Philippine Cup and they look to bend another once more when they shoot to knock the crown off the San Miguel Beer Sunday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
“Nobody believes we could. And that’s understandable, they are, after all, a powerhouse team,” Chito Victolero said when asked about being at the cusp of dethroning the Beermen in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals’ Game 6 clash set at 6:30 p.m.
“And we’re the underdogs. We’ve been that since the quarterfinals, the semifinals. We’re maybe the only ones who believe,” he added. “Though whenever we believe, good things happen to us. That’s why it’s our battle cry.”
Magnolia struggled to get sober from its championship hangover, which cost them three games early in the Philippine Cup. They managed to only win one game halfway through the eliminations, putting them in a precarious situation for a playoff spot.
The Hotshots, though, won five of their last six to barely making it to the middle pack for the playoffs. From there, they went on to face crowd darling Barangay Ginebra in the quarterfinals and the second-seeded Rain or Shine in the semifinals.
But they say everything is clearer in hindsight. Victolero couldn’t agree more as he believes that along with their title run last year has helped the Hotshots grow into the worthy challenger they are now against the Beermen.
“We battled in a lot of situations like these before. They (Hotshots) now know how to win,” he said.
Magnolia looks to wrest the role of the the team etches its name deeper into PBA lore when it tries to foil San Miguel’s bid for an unprecedented “five-peat” in the all-Filipino conference.
Meanwhile, the Beermen, if its any consolation, know where exactly they fell short in narrow 88-86 Game 5 loss on Friday night.
“I think it was evident that our shot selection was poor,” coach Leo Austria said. “It’s hard to win when you’re only making 29.8 percent of your field goals.”
“We (may) have arrested our rebounding woes, but we’re not able to execute in the last few possessions especially when their big men were in foul trouble,” he added. “I guess the break is not on our side. There was a lot of drama, too, earlier.”
But being under the harsh spotlight of drama a scenario all too familiar for Austria and his wards. San Miguel, after all, is the only team to ever come back from a 0-3 hole to win the title.
“Were just unfortunate that we’re unable to score in the last three possessions,” Austria said. “I just hope in the next game we’ll come out with a lot more energy. It’s do-or-die for us.”
The clash is set to feature two contrasting play styles with Magnolia trying to whip out its stingy defense anew, and San Miguel looking to overwhelm through scoring once more.
Victolero, who has long harped about giving themselves a chance at beating the “mighty” Beermen, will have more than an opportunity as they now wield another weapon: a psychological edge off a 3-2 lead.
But the Magnolia mentor is not trying to put much premium on that.
“This will be extra hard,” he said of closing out San Miguel. “We know San Miguel. They don’t go down easily. You saw it earlier, we were up 13 in the last six minutes. They tied it.”
“We just have to do this all over again—keeping the score low—to give ourselves a chance in the end.”