Hotshots through to quarters, place Dyip on playoff bubble

Magnolia became the third team to punch a ticket to the quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup on Friday, with a 108-100 victory over Terrafirma practically making up for an alarming stretch that saw the perennial contender Hotshots absorb back-to-back defeats, including an offensive nightmare the last time out.

But Ian Sangalang, one of the reasons they snapped out of that rut at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, would rather use that anemic run of form as a driving force rather than a concern entering the playoffs.

“I know that winning becomes sweeter after some hardships,” Sangalang told the Inquirer in Filipino following his 23-point, eight-rebound, four-assist production that put the Hotshots at 6-4 with a game left in the eliminations.

“It’s a motivation for us that we’re not a strong team and that we need to work doubly hard to win games in the playoffs,” he added. “We have to give our A-game against any team we face. We realize that we can’t be a strong team if we don’t play as a team.”

The Hotshots are assured of playing a best-of-three series in the quarters following the victory that came despite a fourth-quarter comeback by the Dyip.

They are no longer assured, however, of sneaking a twice-to-beat advantage as one of the top two teams even if they end up in a three-way tie at 7-4 with Barangay Ginebra and NLEX, which at presstime was playing Rain or Shine.

Ginebra, carrying a 7-3 win-loss slate, and NLEX (5-4 before its match with Rain or Shine) square off on Sunday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Terrafirma, meanwhile, finished the elims at 5-6, missing a chance to secure an outright quarters berth.

The Dyip fell into a tie with NorthPort, and will now wait until the end of Sunday’s games to figure out if they need to suit up on Wednesday in a playoff for the No. 8 seed in the quarters.

Magnolia bounced back from a horrific 23-point loss to Meralco when the Hotshots scored just 51 points. Coach Chito Victolero is hoping that a similar performance won’t be seen in the foreseeable future.

“It’s just one game. You cannot judge us in that one game,” said Victolero. “During our four-game winning streak, we were able to score more than 100 points. And it also happens to the other teams as well.

“I mean, hopefully, that would be our worst game of the conference. We’re trying to improve our offense by using different schemes that would benefit our players,” he added.