When Alex Mallari nailed the triple to snatch the lead in the final 14.4 seconds, he did not only give his NLEX Road Warriors an 86-84 lead. He also struck a dagger right through the heart of the Magnolia Hotshots — his former team.
Mallari was with the San Miguel Corporation-owned team years back, when Magnolia were then known as the San Mig Coffee Mixers. He played there from 2013 to 2016, and won a rare Grand Slam with them (2013-2014).
That is why when he made that cold-blooded three-pointer, some of the Hotshots faithful felt like they had been stung, as a former Mixer dealt them that huge of a blow.
And that his trey proved pivotal as it helped NLEX bring down Magnolia, 88-87, en route to their first semifinals win in their first-ever semis foray.
“Game One is always an important win, especially with a great team like that, you don’t wanna give them a lead,” said Mallari after the bout, where he was his team’s third-best scorer with 14 markers on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor.
As for the end-game shot, Mallari gave credit to super rookie Kiefer Ravena for spotting him open at the top of the key.
“Game winning play? I was open.
“Kief attracted the attention (defense) and I just let it fly,” said the six-year pro, who is averaging 8.17 points, 3.83 rebounds, and 1.83 assists this conference.
Mallari knows the opposition too well, of course. And that is why the 30-year-old — even with the 1-0 lead — remains wary of the Hotshots, as he knows that his former team will put up a gallant stand come Game Two on Monday.
“It’s just one game, they didn’t have the best game so we can expect them to bounce back,” he said. “They have that championship mentality. We know that they’re not just gonna lay over so, we’re just gonna prepare for a dogfight.
“They’re all over the court and you just have to pay attention. You can’t let your guard down at all. We know they [have] great rebounding guards so we gotta keep them off the glass. They slash hard, they post, they got a lot of stuff.
“So we just gotta take every possession like it’s crucial,” the 6-foot-4 swingman closed.
