Chito V acknowledges San Miguel’s ‘Death 15’ challenge ahead of Finals

Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero hasn’t given San Miguel much thought, but he’s all aware of the challenge that lies ahead once the long-time rivals duke it out in the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup Finals on Friday.

“‘Yung Death Five nga nahirapan na kami, 15 pa kaya,” quipped the champion mentor moments after finishing off Phoenix Super LPG, 89-79, in Game 4 of the semis, Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

Victolero was referring to the recent statement made by Beermen head coach Jorge Gallent, wherein he no longer wants his team to be defined with its famed, star-studded five that brought multiple titles to the franchise not so long ago.

“Everybody’s capable. There’s no Death Five here. It’s Death 15. Everybody’s good here. They wouldn’t be here if they weren’t good,” he said.

The ‘Death Five’ has been associated with SMB since June Mar Fajardo, Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross, and Alex Cabagnot bannered the team’s reign of dominance from 2014-19, where they won eight championships.

But it’s only just recently that it got brought up again when Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said that the Beermen have become tougher to beat with import Bennie Boatwright taking on the role previously played by Santos.

Gallent, though, would rather say that he has a ‘Death 15’ at his disposal, for the veteran mentor wants the rest of his team to be acknowledged.

And that presents more problems for Victolero and Co. a bunch that’s hungry not just for gold but to earn some payback against San Miguel.

It could be remembered that the Hotshots have fallen to Fajardo and Co. in the 2018 and 2019 Philippine Cup Finals, with the latter arguably the most painful result as they lost by a mere point, 72-71, in Game 7.

Now they’re about to face a different Beermen this time, a team that’s in the midst of a nine-game winning streak dating back to the eliminations.

“I think wala na namang tulugan ‘to,” Victolero said of the looming Finals. “We just try to think about what we need to do with this powerhouse team.

“We will try to find ways. Lahat naman ‘yan may solusyon. We will go to our strength, which is our defense. Let’s see kung ano ‘yung magiging game plan.”