Ian Sangalang (right) and the rest of the Magnolia squad will try to outwork everyone else in the field. —PBA IMAGES
Magnolia is the hottest team in the PBA Philippine Cup at the moment, with a five-game winning streak that teams with lesser determination could be tempted to take a day off, so to speak, and take aim at the side it would like to meet in the first round of the playoffs.
Not Chito Victolero and his gang.
“We’re not here to choose [an opponent],” Victolero told the Inquirer over the phone, hours after practice on Tuesday. “We will go out there to win every game we can and take momentum into the playoffs. We will play whichever teams we will be destined to play [in the playoffs] and we will work hard to beat those teams.”
With Nos. 1 and 2 already locked up by San Miguel Beer and TNT, respectively, Victolero knows the path heading back to the title series will be a tough one.
“My players are working hard because we know that we are not the most talented team,” he added on the eve of a 6 p.m. clash with Rain or Shine at Smart Araneta Coliseum, which will carry a lot of weight in Magnolia’s quest to tab No. 3 ranking. “But we are all making sure that we are the hardest working team out there.”
With a 6-3 record and a game slated against Blackwater on Friday to close out their elimination round stint, the Hotshots can finish with an 8-3 record with a sweep and will likely get No. 3 and the right to play the No. 6 qualifier in a best-of-three series.
“That’s the next best thing to finishing in the top two,” he said. “We will take that anytime. But like I said, no one will give that to us. We have to work hard for that.”
Victolero sort of welcomes the chance to play in a best-of-three series rather than a win-once advantage in the quarterfinals.
“We’re just starting to get every one in after all sorts of injuries,” he said. “We will need to play those games as a complete unit so we can be at full force [deeper in the playoffs].
“Our goal has remained the same since the start of the season, and that is to make it back to the Finals,” said Victolero. “We’ve been trying hard for the last four years—losing in the Finals three times.
“Hopefully, our hard work will allow us to get over the hump this time,” he said. “And we want to do that against any team we face.”
The game is equally important for the 4-6 Elasto Painters, who can formalize their advance to the quarterfinals with a win. INQ