Ian Sangalang has always expressed his hunger whenever the Finals gets brought up in conversations. Nobody can blame him though, since it’s been nearly half a decade since the last time he played in a championship series.
The 26-year-old slotman finally returned to the Big Dance that is the 2018 Philippine Cup Finals, Friday night. And in his first Finals since 2014, he had shown what he has been aching to strut as he shined the brightest.
Sangalang poured a career-high 29 points, including two pressure-packed freebies in the final 16 ticks, along with nine boards to lift the Magnolia Hotshots to a 105-103 stunner — and to a 1-0 series lead — over the San Miguel Beermen.
“When the playoffs started yan naman si Ian na eh. He already stepped up,” lauded Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero, one of the few who were least surprised by the way the Kapampangan star delivered on such a big stage.
But aside from the career-best output, probably the biggest takeaway of Sangalang’s night was the way he baited SMB’s June Mar Fajardo for a foul, which then led to the freebies that helped Magnolia book the huge victory.
“Wala na eh, binigay na sa’kin. Gagawin ko nalang yung best ko,” Sangalang recalled. “Naka-shoot naman ako ng isa sa kanya, siguro, yung last na yun, ginawa ko nalang yung best ko para kung ano man yung kaya kong gawin.
“Ayon, foul. Yung free throw [buti pumasok pa].”
Those free throws, moreover, proved to be the perfect conclusion for Magnolia’s fightback, as they had been down by as much as 20, 52-72, early in the third chapter — the point where many thought the game was already over.
“Yung team namin, ‘di mag-gi-give up yan. Kahit madami yung lamang, lalaban pa rin kami diyan,” said Sangalang. “Kahit ma-shootan kami, babalik kami sa opensa namin. Tapos pag na-stop namin sila, dedepensa parin kami.
“Kahit alam naming malakas yung San Miguel, yung puso namin ilalaban namin.”
The Hotshots have earned one of their biggest wins in the Victolero era. They are aware of who and what they are facing, but Sangalang insisted that he and Magnolia will do their best to compete with the famed Beermen.
“Kami maglalaro lang kami ng best namin, yung gameplan namin susundin namin. ‘Di kami susuko,” he declared.
“Sabi ko nga, kahit lumamang sila, so ayun, lalaro lang talaga kami kung ano makakaya naming gawin.”
