PAGADIAN, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR—Mac Baracael is the heart and soul of Globalport-MisOr in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup Mindanao Challenge.
And he has proven it time and again, playing with an injured calf since November 24, their third game in the conference.
“Hindi pa talaga ako 100 percent. May nararamdaman pa ako pero siguro nasa may 75-percent pa lang ako,” said the Valientes captain.
“Mac is not 100 percent but you know he has a heart of a veteran champion. Sabi niya, ‘Basta coach you need me, I’ll play’,” shared MisOr head coach Vis Valencia.
Despite that, Baracael has averaged 18 minutes in those eight games wherein he played hurt.
There was also a stretch of four games in four days where the 6-foot-4 wingman all played big minutes, resulting in three wins and just one defeat.
However, in their matches against MFT Iligan and Basilan BRT last Thursday and Friday, respectively, Baracael had a shooting slump.
He was a combined 5-of-23 from the field for just 18 points, nonetheless, his MisOr still took the wins.
But after two days of rest, Kalibre 45 has gotten his groove back. He led the Valientes to a 67-62 squeaker over host team Pagadian at the Pagadian City Gymnasium here, Monday evening.
The Far Eastern University product unleashed a team-high 15 points on an efficient 6-of-11 shooting, good for 54.5 percent. He also drained two triples, far cry from his 0-of-6 clip in their previous two outings.
“Napagod ako noong four straight games so nabigyan ako ng chance makapagpahinga. Kaya maganda ‘yung shooting ko ngayon.”
And expect Baracael to continue playing despite his calf injury as the playoffs start on Saturday with the positioning at the top still vague.
Currently, the Valientes are atop the standings at 7-3. However, BYB Kapatagan is just half a game away at 6-3. Teams are chasing the first seed as it gains an automatic seat in the semifinals, which means more rest days.
“Every win counts. As you can see, hindi kami malayo sa Kapatagan kaya we really need to win these games para mag-stay kami sa number one,” said the 36-year-old veteran from Quezon Province.
