LEADER Magnolia eyes a quarterfinals seat against struggling San Miguel Beer with the Hotshots looking further toward a twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.
Magnolia (7-1 won-lost) square off with San Miguel Beer (3-4) at 5:45 p.m. right after TNT Tropang Giga (4-4) takes on Meralco (3-5) at 3 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Against the Beermen, coach Chito Victolero said the Hotshots should be wary of a hungry opponent.
“San Miguel Beer is very hungry to keep their playoff hopes alive, so we have to match their intensity,” Victolero told BusinessMirror on Tuesday. “It’s going to be a defensive showdown, we have to tighten our defense.”
Magnolia’s only loss in the conference so far came at the hands of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 97-103, last month.
“It’s one game at a time for us and we cannot afford to look forward to our Saturday game against the Bay Area Dragons until we aren’t done with San Miguel,” Victolero said. “When you play a team like San Miguel, you cannot be complacent up to the last second because they can get back and score.”
The Hong Kong Dragons continue to spew fire and are 8-2, their previous win a 118-98 rout of the NLEX Road Warriors behind Myles Powell’s 36 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals the other night.
San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria won’t get that win relying on his wards’ hunger for a win alone. He knows Magnolia’s a brick wall when it comes to defense.
“Wow … it’s a tough assignment for us, knowing that they are playing really well and we’re struggling,” Austria said. “This game is also important for them so we should step up real high, but it’s not going to be easy.”
June Mar Fajardo has yet to be cleared by his doctors as he recovers from a throat surgery while Terrence Romeo will only be back during the playoffs from a back injury.