Meralco actually has the upper hand over Magnolia heading into their 2021 Honda PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal clash on Sunday.
It could be remembered that the Bolts dealt the Hotshots their first loss of the conference back in the elimination round last September 1, in a game that saw undeniably one of the most thrilling finishes thus far this season.
The MVP ball club rallied from 13 points down inside the final two minutes and snatched a 95-94 win thanks to a Chris Newsome game-winner to put the fire out of their opponents, who entered that match with four straight wins.
However, it does not make Meralco head coach Norman Black confident whatsoever of their chances in the upcoming clash, saying that they’re about to face a much different crew from the ones they stunned earlier.
“It’s going to be tough. I mean, we played them early in the conference,” he said Friday after their semis-clinching win over NLEX.
“I think we beat them, but it was very, very early. So obviously, you know, they’re a different team now.”
That loss actually brought Magnolia to a roller-coaster ride as it lost two of its next four assignments versus TNT and Rain or Shine. But it snapped out of its funk versus NorthPort, before taking down San Miguel Beer.
The Hotshots finished the eliminations with those back-to-back wins for an 8-3 record to clinch the no. 3 seed. And they went on to ride that wave of momentum to sweep the Elasto Painters in the best-of-three quarters.
And that’s where the worry starts for Black, as his wards will have to go up against a team who’s become much more cohesive.
“They’ve jelled already as the conference has gone on. So tonight, we’ll be just studying tapes, studying video, and trying to find out exactly what they’re doing, what they did in their last series and try to get the guys ready for Game One.”
He mentioned, in particular, the trio of Paul Lee, Calvin Abueva, and Ian Sangalang as those which they will have to be more concerned about.
Abueva is the leading candidate for the Best Player of the Conference award, with his long-time teammate Sangalang ranking fifth in the race.
Photo by PBA Images
“It’s not going to be easy playing against Magnolia, particularly with the way Paul Lee has been playing and Calvin Abueva has been playing lately, and I should also mention Sangalang because he’s been doing a great job,” he said.
Despite the challenge that awaits the Bolts, Black vowed that his charges will compete as they aim to atone for last year’s heartbreak that saw them go seconds away from the Finals before bowing to Ginebra.
“It’s going to be very, very difficult for us in the series. But at the same time, I think we’ll be very competitive. And of course, we’ll be out to win,” said the Grand Slam-winning bench tactician.
“It’s gonna be a tough series. It’s a seven-game series, so we just have to get a little bit of luck. Hopefully nobody will fall into the protocols again for the coronavirus, and in addition to that, nobody will get hurt.”
