He may not have had the best of stats, but heady slotman Ian Sangalang was the hero that the Magnolia Hotshots needed on Friday evening to preserve their winning streak against an upset-hungry Blackwater Elite.
Sangalang was the one who doused cold water on Blackwater’s fiery 14-2 run from 12 points down in the fourth, nailing a fall-away one-handed jumper to break the 72-all deadlock with just 55.1 seconds on the clock.
But probably the biggest play that the five-year pro made that night was his key stop on Elite’s sophomore forward Mac Belo, where he forced the former FEU Tamaraws star into a backcourt violation with 41.4 seconds left to play.
“Yung game plan namin is to switch,” said the 6-foot-7 regarding the huge defensive play of his. “Nung unang switch namin naka-shoot siya, so sabi ko, ‘pag nag-switch kami ready na ako kahit anong mangyari. ‘Di ko paiiscorin to.
“Nag-gamble na talaga ako, pag nadrive-an ako, hahabol ako tapos fa-foul ako so yun, ang ginawa ko talaga, sumugal na ako na ganun yung gawin ko,” he added.
“‘Pag umatras ako, lagi akong nadadrive-an kaya ganun ang ginawa ko.”
Fortunately for the Kapampangan cager, his gamble paid off greatly, as both his major plays led to a 78-72 victory and extended their streak to five, placing themselves on top of the 2018 Philippine Cup standings.
“Kailangan talaga namin yung game na ‘to e,” said Sangalang, who is averaging 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds. “‘Di kami pwede matalo dito kaya nung huli medyo na-pressure kami nung dumikit pero ako positive lang ako… Ready lang ako.”
“Kumpiyansa lang at tiwala sa sarili. Yung positive mindset na kaya ko pag binunot ako ready ako.”
