Chito Victolero wants to stop the dominoes from falling
Wednesday evening was the most frustrating night that first-year head coach Chito Victolero had experienced in his tenure as mentor of the Star Hotshots.
The Hotshots, who have lost two straight, could not get anything going for 48 minutes of action as every rally they made was hampered by foul calls on the other end. By the end of the game, Star had been called for 36 fouls that led to 33 free throw attempts for Ginebra.
“Kayo naman ang nakakakita. Nakita naman ng PBA ‘yan. Kung ano, bahala na. I mean, wala naman akong masasabi sa mga referees eh,” Victolero said after his team absorbed an 83-96 Game Four loss.
And with the emotions running high, Victolero was called for a technical foul after arguing with officials in what he had felt was a non-call of a travelling infraction against Kevin Ferrer, 58 seconds into the last frame.
“Kaya lang naman ako… ‘Yung emotions ko lang nung time na yun siguro medyo mataas. You know, it’s up to them, bahala na siguro sila.
“And lahat naman, kayo naman nakakakita, bahala na rin kayo sa kung ano mang masasabi niyo sa game,” the 41-year-old mentor furthered.
However, seeing their head coach infuriated did not have a good effect on the Hotshots. His frustrations rubbed off on the players, leading to over-aggressiveness on both ends of the court.
“I think kasalanan ko yun and sinabi ko sa mga players ko ‘yun. Sa akin nag-start. So kasalanan ko.
“This game, kaya kami natalo dahil sa akin,” admitted Victolero, who has been coaching in the pro ranks since 2014.
Moreover, the coach born in Santa Maria, Bulacan, is just focusing on the things they can control as the series is now back to square one.
“We need to stay together and stay positive. Walang negative ngayon. Kailangan lang namin mag-stick together.
“Experience-wise, alam naman na ng mga players kung ano ang gagawin nila. This conference madami kaming dinaan na [character-building moments]. Kailangan ma-build namin yung character namin sa mga ganitong situations,” Victolero added.
