Magnolia Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Magnolia was one of the two teams that already saw action before the PBA bubble, and it made sure that it won’t be suffering the same fate that it experienced in the Philippine Cup opener.
The Hotshots came back from 22 points down, 70-48, in the third quarter, and stunned NLEX 103-100 in their first game of the restart at Angeles University Foundation Wednesday.
Head coach Chito Victolero is aware of the importance of getting that first win especially in the bubble where teams play every day.
“Here in the bubble you can’t go down 0-2, 0-3, 0-4, because that will be a difficult hole to come out of,” said Victolero in Filipino. “Other teams will also pick itself up and get some wins that’s why you can’t fall behind.”
“Us especially because we started 0-1.”
Magnolia lost to San Miguel in the opener of the 2020 season and this win against the Road Warriors was an all-important sigh of relief for Victolero and his team.
“This is a good momentum booster for us. We, at least, got a win and we’re looking forward to our next game.”
A vital component of that Hotshots win was the energetic play of power forward Jackson Corpuz.
Seen as the new rebounding spark plug after club legend Marc Pingris, Corpuz has been credited as Victolero’s game-changing force against the Road Warriors.
Corpuz finished the game with nine points and nine rebounds and it was his work on the glass that stuck with Victolero.
“I told Jack in the first half that he’s way too hyper, way too excited, so when he settled down in the second half that’s when we got our energy, the rebounds, and the pressure defense on the opposing bigs,” said Victolero.
Corpuz, who arrived at Magnolia in December, played for 24 minutes and had his team’s best rebounding rate at 17.48 percent, just above center Ian Sangalang’s mark of 14.56%.
Only NLEX center Raul Soyud, who is two inches taller and bulkier than Corpuz, had a better rebounding rate of 25.42%.
Helping Corpuz in his acclimation to the Hotshots is Pingris himself and Victolero said the former Philippine international can see himself in the Magnolia newcomer.
Victolero even compared the duo to anime characters Hanamichi Sakuragi and Kicchou Fukuda who are the main and supporting characters, respectively, of the cult classic Slam Dunk.
“Ping has been really teaching Jack the system and our schemes in defense,” said Victolero. “I think Ping sees himself in Jack. That’s big help in the transition because Ping is not getting any younger.”
“What’s great here is Ping’s helping the younger big men. But once he gets back on the floor we can have our own version of Sakuragi and Fukuda.”