THERE were no excuses from coach Chito Victolero following Magnolia’s exit at Final 8 stage of the PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup.
The Hotshots saw their late resurgence cut short by the top-seeded Northport Batang Pier, 113-110, in their playoff showdown on Thursday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Victolero said there was nothing to be ashamed of for the Hotshots despite their early exit considering they were given up for dead until stringing up a streak of do-or-die victories that enabled the team to take the last spot in the quarterfinals.
READ NorthPort shows Magnolia the door with a gritty stand in endgame
“It was a good run but we fell short. I’m thankful and appreciate the effort of my players and the whole team because three weeks ago, we were out,” said Victolero. “But we made the last trip, the last slot to the playoffs. Yun lang nakakahinayang kasi we were almost there.”
Magnolia appeared ready to live for another day after taking a 57-43 lead in the second quarter and 61-47 edge at the half.
But Northport went on a huge third-quarter run anchored by import Kadeem Jack, main man Arvin Tolentino, and Cade Flores, outscoring the Hotshots, 36-15, to turn things around entering the final 12 minutes, 83-76.
The Batang Pier appeared ready to take the fight out of the Hotshots after leading by as many as 14, but Magnolia went on a run of its own in the homestretch behind the clutch shooting of Paul Lee.
The veteran guard hit 2 from beyond the extended arc and put the Hotshots to within 109-108 in the final 65 seconds.
Lee even had the chance to put Magnolia on top, but missed his third attempt from four-point distance.
“My players deserve this kind of appreciation because they played well also until the last minute. In the final seconds of the game, we almost had a chance to win with the last shot of Paul,” said Victolero.
“Paul gave us the chance and opportunity to win. We were down by 12 and we almost won. And that showed the character of the players,” the Magnolia coach added. “But again there’s only one team na kailangang manalo.”
Victolero also praised Northport for fighting back despite being down by a huge margin in the first half.
“Credit also to Northport, they deserve to be in the semis because they’re playing very well the entire conference,” he said of the Batang Pier.
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