by Dennis Principe
With a 4-2 win-loss record, it would be easy to say that the Star Hotshots are in a great position to clinch a playoff spot in the ongoing PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
But looking deeper into those six games, there seems to be signs of an impending collapse should the Hotshots fail to play to its full potential in its five remaining elimination round games.
The victories the Chito Victolero-coached team notched were against Phoenix, GlobalPort NLEX and Mahindra, four teams that currently have a combined 4-18 win-loss tally.
Star’s two losses were against title-contending teams Ginebra and San Miguel Beer.
Up next for the Hotshots are Blackwater, Rain or Shine, Tropang TNT, Meralco and Alaska which, except for the Elite, are touted as strong playoff contenders.
Just like any other import-flavored conference, these foreign reinforcements end up being replaced if a team feels a need to make changes or adjustments to improve on their playoff chances.
But Victolero, during a short talk with the PBA mediamen after their tough loss to the Beermen last Sunday, expressed his hope of seeing import Tony Mitchell play a notch better than his six-game norm of 22 points, 14.2 rebounds and 3 blocks in their upcoming tough assignments.
Meantime, San Miguel import Charles Rhodes claims he is still a work in progress despite being instrumental in leading the Beermen to a 3-0 start.
Watch the video interviews with Star coach Chito Victolero and San Miguel import Charles Rhodes below.
