Beermen give Hotshots dose of their own medicine
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 06 Apr 2018
The Magnolia Hotshots looked to have really found the secret on how to beat sister team San Miguel Beermen.
Employing a switching man defense on SMB?s dreaded shooters, the Hotshots hounded the Beermen all throughout the 48-minute Game 4, forcing the four-peat seeking enemies to play catch up all night before raising the white flag in the dying seconds and losing, 80-84, Wednesday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Going into Game 5 of the best-of-five championship payoff of the Philippine grand finale, the Hotshots, as a result, will troop to the Mall of Asia Arena today with a virtually unreachable 1-3 handicap.
A big a hole only two teams, in the 43-year history of the PBA, including SMB itself, had managed to overcome.
The Beermen did the trick the hard way by rising not only from a 1-3 grave but 0-3 to win the title of this same All-Filipino over Alaska, thus, becoming the only team in any sport in the world to accomplish the feat.
Another team from the San Miguel Corp. conglomerate, Barangay Ginebra, first did it in 1991, rallying from 1-3 to beat Shell for the First Conference diadem of that season.
Like their sister teams, the Hotshots must sweep the remaining three games to pull off that monumental reversal and join the league?s immortals starting today.
Perhaps remembering where the Kings and he beermen succeeded, Magnolia coach Chito Victolero declared ?it can be done!
?Ma-down ka ng 3-1, talagaxng mabigat yun. Pero I?m still positive, it can be done. Walang imposible,? Victolero said in term of justifying his belief during Wednesday?s post-game interview with media men.
?We?ll just try to live another day, we?ll just try to find ways to win on Friday,? Victolero added.
The Magnolia bench tactician has reason to be optimistic. That loss in Game 4, he said favoured his Hotshots, adding, ?It was our best game in the series. Even if nanalo kami sa Game One, it was not our game. Game 4 was our game.?
?It?s a defensive game and that?s our game,? he assessed, noting how the team held the Beermen to just within 80 points. ?We cannot dominate San Miguel because of their firepower. So our plan (today) is just to stay close, stay in the game for 48 minutes and we?ll ave a chance. Yun ang goal namin.?
?Sa Game 4, the breaks went against us,? he said as he decried his team was only given seven free throws as compared to San Miguel?s 20. ?Yun ang isa pang naging malaking problema namin.?
?Hindi kami maka-adjust sa tawag ng reperi. We had a hard time playing defense, lagi kaming penalty lahat ng quarter. Siguro we?ll review the tape and consult the technical officials.?
SMB coach Leo Austria agreed to Victolero?s projection on Wednesday?s game.
?Indeed, it was a defensive game,? Austria said, echoing Voctolero?s observation. ?I have to give credit to their coaching staff, the Hotshots shackled us in that game. They somehow succeeded in dictating the tempo in the first half.?
?They limited us with their tough defense. Good thing, we also limited them with our defense,? he said even as he noted that both the Hotshots and his Beermen limited each other to their lowest output in the series.
No team had lead in double figures with the Hotshots managing to post the biggest edge of nine points, 25-16, before tasking the half by the slimmest half a basket, 46-45.
SMB?s starting unit led by the Best Player the Conference honoree June Mar Fajardo, Alex Cabagnot, Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross nearly outscored the entire Magnolia troop by driving, jumping and heaving from afar for 78 points.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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