MAGNOLIA has shown it could do a big rebound from a bad game.
It's now the TNT Tropang Giga's turn to show their true mettle when they clash with the Hotshots Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in a match winding up their elimination round campaign in the PBA Philippine Cup.
A follow-up win by Magnolia to its 108-100 conquest of Terrafirma just last Friday would give the former a 7-4 record, the third seeding, and a best-of-three duel with the sixth-ranked squad in the eight-team quarterfinals.
A loss, especially a big one, would relegate the Hotshots to as low as seventh and a twice-to-win handicap against the No. 2 team, most possibly Barangay Ginebra, in the next round.
Additional help from a sister team could come Magnolia's way since a San Miguel Beer win over Meralco later Saturday would take the Bolts down to 5-6 and clear up the path for the Hotshots to secure a berth among the best-of-three duels among teams ranked third to sixth.
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"Pag nanalo San Miguel mamaya, sure na kami sa best-of-three, pero siyempre, take care of our own business muna kami," said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero. "Tsaka gusto rin naming matapos on a high note kaya we will go hard tomorrow."
For its part, 5-5 TNT needs a win that would assure it of a slot in the quarterfinals, even going as high as fourth and a best-of-three duel with the fifth seed.
A loss by the Tropa, however, would mean their relegation into a logjam for seventh on a 5-6 slate and, following the application of quotients as initial tiebreak, most probably a knockout game for the eighth spot.
Coach Chot Reyes and his wards were put in such a bind following a shock 103-107 loss to also-ran Converge last Wednesday when TNT trailed early before falling short in its fightback.
Ironically, TNT could take heart from Magnolia itself after the Hotshots' impressive bounce-back from a 51-74 loss to Meralco the Sunday before, when Victolero's side set new franchise lows in field goal percentage (25 percent) and total points scored.
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The Hotshots did a huge turnaround against the Dyip, putting what they practiced into game to wind up with a 40-of-82 clip from the field, including 10-of-20 from beyond the arc.
"We just want to get better on our offense. We practiced it for the last few days. We want to improve our offense because defensively we are consistent... the No. 1 defensive team," said Victolero following the Terrafirma game.
"Offensively, kailangan naming mag-improve kaya iyon ang ginagawa namin ngayon. Hopefully, before the playoffs start mas maganda itinatakbo ng opensa namin para kahit papaano we'd have a good chance in the playoffs," added Victolero. (NC)
