Resurgent Magnolia in ‘do-or-die’ mode, says Victolero

FILE – Magnolia Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—Magnolia hasn’t had the best of starts in the condensed PBA Philippine Cup but a win over top seed TNT could very well jump start its uphill bid for the Playoffs.

Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero said his team has entered a place where the margin of error is as grim as it could possibly be.

“We’re in playoff mode, we now have a playoff mentality,” said Victolero his team’s 102-92 win over the Tropang Giga Wednesday at Angeles University Foundation.

The Hotshots started their stay inside the bubble with a 103-100 win over NLEX, a slight recovery after their 94-78 loss to San Miguel before the pandemic, but they dropped their next three games to fall to a dismal 1-4 record.

They have since won two straight, the first time this conference the Hotshots had a positive streak, at the expense of Barangay Ginebra and TNT to move to a 3-4 slate and the eighth seed in the standings.

“Every game is a do-or-die for us,” said Victolero. “We have four more games and we want to focus on one game at a time. We stay on the present and whatever we need do then we focus on that.”

“That’s our mentality right now. We have the pressure on us and we want that pressure.”

Magnolia’s next four games are against Terrafirma, Rain or Shine, NorthPort, and Blackwater with the Elasto Painters the only team secured enough of a place at the top four of the standings.

The Dyip, Batang Pier, and Elite are all below the Hotshots in the standings but Victolero isn’t one to take chances.

“We work hard, we prepare hard. And it’s not about the other teams’ records, but it’s all about our preparation.”