IF there is one team aching to plunge back into full scrimmages while waiting for the PBA Governors Cup to resume, it is Magnolia.
Coach Chito Victolero said he doesn’t want the league-leading Hotshots losing any of the momentum they have generated in the early part of the season-ending tournament, adding one way to do that is get back on the practice courts as soon as possible.
“We’re looking at other areas outside of Manila, ‘yung mga Alert Level 2, para maka-ensayo naman kami doon,” Victolero told Malaya-Business Insight yesterday.
“Mahirap, kasi baka mawala sa timing mga players,” added Victolero. “Sayang din ‘yung pinuhunan namin.”
The PBA has postponed all scheduled games from Jan. 5 to 9 until it gains the nod of both the Games and Amusement Board and concerned LGUs for the pro league to continue its season-ending tournament.
Those approvals were needed after the NCR was placed under Alert Level 3 starting last Monday until Jan. 15 to help stifle the recent rise in COVID cases.
Aside from barring the holding of contact sports like basketball unless it’s in a bubble set-up, another consequence of such an alert level is that PBA teams are allowed to conduct only non-contact, small group workouts.
Before the cancelation, it was supposed to be a hectic week for Magnolia as it tries to improve its 3-0 slate against Blackwater today. The Hotshots were also set to meet Meralco on Friday and TNT on Sunday.
The respite could work to his team’s disadvantage, according to Victolero. “Mahirap para sa players,” he said. “Alam kasi nila may laro so ‘yung preparation mataas ang level nila. Then postponed, cancelled. So ‘yung energy and other mental aspects mag-i-slide down and hindi mo naman ma-bi-build up uli agad iyan dahil hindi pa natin alam kung kelan ulit resumption.”
What happened to Magnolia in the last Philippine Cup when it started at 4-0, only to lose momentum when play was stopped before being finished out in Bacolor, Pampanga, is still on the mind of the team, according to Victolero.
“Last conference after 4-0 na start namin, nag-Bacolor. Struggle kami in our first four, five games there,” recalled Victolero. “Naka-recover naman, pero siyempre ayaw naming mag-leave anything to chance kaya binabantayan namin ngayon ‘yung kondisyon nila, timing.”
One good thing the cancellation gave Magnolia is more time for Paul Lee to fully recover from a bruised right knee he suffered while helping the Hotshots beat Ginebra 117-94 on Christmas Day.
