Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times

Basketball

Chito Victolero owns up to Hotshots’ streak-ending loss


Second-year Magnolia Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero took the blame following the Magnolia Hotshots’ loss to the San Miguel Beermen on Sunday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City, which put an end to their five-game winning streak.

“I think medyo meron din akong konting kulang na adjustment,” admitted Victolero after their 76-77 loss.

“Sabi ko nga sa mga players ko, ‘di lang nila fault, but some of the nangyari meron din akong kasalanan.”

That adjustment Victolero rued was the way he handled the situation in the fourth quarter, where they lost hold of a 10-point lead through an 18-7 rally by the defending champions, and fell to a 69-70 deficit in the final three minutes.

“We slowed it down which is gusto ng San Miguel,” shared Victolero. “For the first three quarters we kept on running eh, and dun na nawala sa’min nung fourth quarter. Yun, yung adjustment na yun.

“Expect naman na San Miguel, ‘di naman yan maggi-giveup agad. They are the defending champions, and expect na they will come back dun sa fourth quarter.”

Aside from that lapse on his part and their end-game execution, Victolero also saw the need for the Hotshots to be more aggressive on offense. In this recent loss, they only shot 2-of-7 free throws — far from SMB’s 20-of-27.

“We need to improve being aggressive… Baka kulang pa yung [pagiging] agresibo namin kasi seven free throws lang kami eh,” the youthful mentor said.

“Kailangan pa namin siguro maging agresibo sa opensa namin para at least ‘di kami talo sa free throws.”

Sunday clearly wasn’t the day for Magnolia, who dropped to second — tied with the Alaska Aces — with a 6-2 card. Despite that, Victolero remains upbeat, saying that this has served as a wake-up call for his team.

#ReadMore  Ginebra survives Manila Clasico series to advance to Finals

“Ang maganda lang dun, we learned something from this game,” said the 42-year-old bench strategist. “Nakita namin kung nasaan kami ngayon.

“We need to experience this kind of games going into the last phase ng eliminations and going to the playoffs. We need to experience this kind of character[-testing] game[s] which is we know we have a chance,” Victolero added.

“So kung dumating kami sa dulo, sa playoffs, pag meron kaming ganitong laro, alam na namin gagawin namin.”

Written By

Oftentimes on the sidelines. Forever a student of the game. Morayta-bred.


You May Also Like

Basketball

Magnolia laid its four-game skid to rest by outlasting NLEX in overtime, 99-95, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Friday night at the Philsports Arena...

Basketball

There are far bigger things to worry about for Mark Barroca and a heated exchange with an opponent is not — and won’t ever...

Basketball

Rain or Shine outlasted Magnolia in a game of runs between grind-out teams, 102-100, to extend its winning streak to three games in the...

Basketball

Calvin Oftana erupted for a career-high 42 points to power TNT past the struggling Magnolia, 103-100, for their breakthrough win in the PBA Season...

Basketball

NorthPort repelled a series of Magnolia rallies and came away with a 107-103 decision for its third win in as many games in the...

Basketball

ANTIPOLO – Converge leaned on its stars to complete the comeback and disappoint Magnolia, 93-91, to get back on track in the PBA Season...

Basketball

Calvin Abueva was discharged from the hospital on the same night he got hurt during Magnolia’s eventual win over Blackwater in their PBA Season...

Basketball

Jerom Lastimosa plans to put in more work as the rookie felt far from satisfied with his performance in his awaited PBA debut on...

Advertisement