On the heels of another painful finals setback, the Magnolia Hotshots will continue to pursue excellence and head coach Chito Victolero knows they can only get better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOf course, the experience will only make us better, especially when competing against a powerhouse team like San Miguel led by June Mar Fajardo,\u201d Victolero told PinoyStep.com. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe came close. We were one or two possessions away from winning Game 6 and sending it to a Game 7. But we will keep on trying. The good thing is we always have the chance. Ang mas mahirap naman kung wala kang pag-asa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
True, the Hotshots had been a consistent playoff performer, even reaching the championship round three more times since the last time they won a title in the 2018 Governors\u2019 Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlam naman natin hindi ganung kadali manalo ng championship, especially hindi naman kami ganung kalakas katulad ng ibang teams,\u201d he added. \u201cBut we were always been competing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Victolero believes they\u2019ve already found the missing pieces, adding a few more big men to shore up their front court the past two seasons — first by acquiring James Laput and picking up Abu Tratter and David Murrell in a trade with Converge right before the season started, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They\u2019ve molded Laput to become the next most important big man for the squad and although they\u2019ve shown progress in terms of improvement in his skill set, Victolero thinks the 6-foot-9 center is still not at par with the top-tier big men in the league like Fajardo and Christian Standhardinger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMalayo pa rin talaga, pero at least malaki na yung nakikita nating improvement from James,\u201d said Victolero. \u201cThe good thing about James, he\u2019s willing to learn and he has great attitude. Malaki ang magiging papel ng mga veteran big men namin like Ian (Sangalang) and Rafi (Reavis) in helping his development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the coming Philippine Cup, much is expected from Laput and he\u2019ll play a big role in the Hotshots\u2019 quest for another title run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Laput had shown remarkable improvement, particularly in the preseason, but he was given a reality check, particularly in the finals where he was hardly a factor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the recent Commissioner’s Cup, he averaged 5.5 points, though, the most productive conference in his third season in the PBA.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re back on training. At least, we\u2019re not that far behind in terms of preparation and my players badly need the rest,\u201d added Victolero. \u201cWe will not stop until we win the championship, whatever it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Hotshots begin their Philippine Cup campaign on March 16 against Converge.
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On the heels of another painful finals setback, the Magnolia Hotshots will continue to pursue excellence and head coach Chito Victolero knows they can only get better. \u201cOf course, the experience will only make us better, especially when competing against a powerhouse team like San Miguel led by June Mar Fajardo,\u201d Victolero told PinoyStep.com. \u201cWe…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[58,57,23],"class_list":["post-591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-chito-victolero","tag-magnolia-hotshots","tag-pba"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t