Despite latest struggles, Victolero confident Hotshots know how to bounce back

MANILA, Philippines—Magnolia finds itself spiraling down at the worst possible time with the playoffs just around the corner.

The Hotshots took their third straight setback after dropping an 86-82 decision at the hands of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Wednesday in a game where they blew another chance at clinching a spot in the quarterfinals.

Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero said his the Hotshots’ defense, which has been their bread and butter, has been the main culprit why they haven’t been successful as of late.

“It’s tough. I don’t know but I think we’re really having problems with our defense. We had a chance again but we just couldn’t finish,” Victolero said in Filipino. “We might need to check ourselves, review everything what went wrong and what are shortcomings were.”

Down by four with a little over a minute left, Magnolia muffed five makeable attempts as Rain or Shine hung on to win.

Victolero remains upbeat amid the struggles as he sets his sight on the Hotshots’ last elimination round game against league-leader TNT.

“We need to stay positive because negativity won’t help. Dwelling on our last three games won’t help us,” he said. “I know my team. They’re a veteran team and they know how to bounce back,” he said. “Our fate is still in our hands.”