by Waylon Galvez
If there’s a positive side to Magnolia’s narrow title loss to sister squad San Miguel in the PBA Philippine Cup finals, it’s the maturity level reached by the runner-up team during the series that went the full route.
“We were almost there,” he said, still reeling from the Game 7 defeat.
With the Commissioner’s Cup days from its formal opening, Victolero believes that display of maturity can help them perform much better in the import-laden conference.
“I hope we can carry that maturity in the Commissioner’s Cup. We have a few days rest, then we will go back to work to prepare for the second conference.”
Besides, Magnolia was given little chance at the start of the all-Filipino title showdown against a powerhouse SMB crew led by five-time MVP June Mar Fajardo.
However, the Hotshots surprised many when it stunned SMB with a 99-94 victory in Game 1 of the finals, and when it took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series following an 88-86 win in Game 5 on a buzzer-beating jumper by Mark Barroca.
San Miguel forced a do-or-die Game 7 with a 98-86 win in Game 6.
