PBA: Magnolia coach Victolero braces for ‘dogfight’ vs Meralco in semis

Magnolia’s Mike Harris vs Meralco’s Raymond Almazan. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines-Magnolia threw the full weight of its roster against Phoenix Super LPG on Friday night for the most lopsided victory in the PBA in nearly four years.

The Hotshots dominated the Fuel Masters with impunity, pulling out a 127-88 triumph that put them on a collision course with Meralco in the Governors’ Cup and providing a glimpse of how truly mighty they could be.

But Chito Victolero is not putting too much weight on potential, saying his charges have their work cut out for themselves when they take on the Bolts in a race-to-three semifinals set this Wednesday.

“Both are defensive-minded teams,” he said that night. “So expect this to be a very good series because both teams go hard, play defense and grind together.

“This will be a dogfight between Meralco and Magnolia,” he said.

The series is pretty much a clone of the two team’s last playoff meeting. The two clubs battled it out during this season’s Philippine Cup semifinals in Bacolor, Pampanga province, with the Hotshots advancing after six games.

But it is also shaping up as one of the more exciting matchups in the Final Four as it pits two of the league’s finest imports in Mike Harris and Tony Bishop Jr.

“I think both imports are in a tough race for (this year’s) Best Import. So It’s a good matchup for both,” said Victolero.

Harris, who was named the top reinforcement back in the 2018 edition of this conference, has been leading Magnolia’s sterling run thus far with an average of 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds throughout the elimination round.

Meanwhile, Bishop has been adequately performing for the Bolts despite the massive void left by resident import Allen Durham, norming 28.5 points and 13.7 rebounds in as many games.

If there’s one thing that’s giving Victolero comfort ahead of the duel is that Magnolia just began to play at full strength. And that affords the Hotshots another level to unlock deep into the playoffs.

“In our last games, we didn’t have both Calvin (Abueva), Rome (dela Rosa), sometimes even Ian (Sangalang) and Jio (Jalalon). Now, we’re really happy because we’re going into war with all my soldiers healthy,” he said. “That’s nice.”

Abueva has been playing an off-the-bench star for the Hotshots, a role he played to the hilt during the last tournament where he was eventually crowned Best Player of the Conference.

On Friday night, Abueva finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, coming back from a calf problem that kept him on the sidelines since the tournament’s resumption last February. And Victolero knows that his ward will only get better as the playoffs plods along.

“He contributed a lot on both ends of the floor—from energy to hustle to rebounding down to defense,” he said.

“I’m finally back. And despite all the games that I was out, I was still able to have good momentum and play with strategy on the court,” Abueva said.

“All that’s left for Calvin is to regain his timing. He’s been in good condition, but he needs more games to get back to his rhythm,” said Victolero.

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