Magnolia looks to pile up wins early, avoid crunch time logjam

Mark Barroca (No. 14) provided the local firepower for Magnolia. —PBA IMAGES

Finishing with a spotless record throughout the PBA’s (Philippine Basketball Association) exhibition caravan, Magnolia on Sunday kept that perfect run going after a 110-102 triumph over TNT during the league’s season-opening revelries at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Hotshots dispatched a Tropang Giga side that had a stand-in import and missing three local stars, but Chito Victolero said the absences in no way minimize their foes—or their win for that matter.

“TNT is still TNT even without Mikey Williams and Roger Pogoy. See, their other guys still stepped up,” the Magnolia coach told the Inquirer on the heels of the match that also officially kicked off the Commissioner’s Cup.

“We’re treating every team with utmost respect. And I think that will be the key for us as the games [plod] along,” Victolero said.

At the heart of that approach is actually understanding that these conferences go by so quickly. Winning games early gives a team a massive head start and spares it from leaving its fate in the hands of opposing clubs when the elimination race enters a frantic stage.

And the Hotshots looked like they truly took that bit to heart with import Tyler Bey leading the way with 31 points and 20 rebounds while the veteran backcourt tandem of Mark Barroca and Paul Lee chipped in at least 17 each.

Magnolia will try to annex a second win against Phoenix this coming Sunday at Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

For his part, Jojo Lastimosa also sees the value in setting the tone early. While he was relieved to see his players fill the gaps left by the absences of Williams, Pogoy, Poy Erram and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, the interim mentor felt that the club needs a ton of work to be competitive.

“We couldn’t seem to buy baskets. We didn’t have Mikey and Roger, so we knew that we had to look for their points somewhere else. Calvin (Oftana) stepped up and Quincy (Miller) had a pretty good game. Kelly (Williams) also. But for us to win, everyone has to contribute,” he said.

Sooner than later

“We didn’t give up. We had a lot of chances to fold. The guys kept at it. The zone helped us and that’s going to be a weapon. But the thing is, if you can’t defend one-on-one, we have to rely on our zone, that’s not going to bring you a championship. We have to improve on our defense. [Our] offense will eventually figure itself out,” he said.

Lastimosa is hoping that those developments come sooner rather than later. And for good reason. TNT, after all, is among the few teams who have emerged as favorites in taking the Commissioner’s Cup with defending champion Barangay Ginebra dealing with the absence of resident import Justin Brownlee.

TNT remains hard at work at resolving the contract stalemate with Williams, while Hollis-Jefferson is expected to rejoin the Tropang Giga in two weeks’ time.

Erram told the Inquirer in another chat that he could be back in the fold by early next year. Pogoy, however, is expected to be out for the rest of the conference due to a heart condition.

“It’s all about staying focused, being locked in for the entire game,” said Hollis-Jefferson. “I think if we just focus for 48 minutes and do our job, I think we’ll do good.”

TNT tries to notch a first win when it goes up against Converge on Saturday. INQ