REGARDLESS of his shooting woes, Rome Dela Rosa didn’t hesitate to take the shot that gave Magnolia its maiden win in the PBA Philippine Cup.
The seasoned forward banged in a three-pointer in the final 10 seconds as the Hotshots escaped past NorthPort Batang Pier, 80-77, Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena - their first win after opening the season with back-to-back losses.
[See DL Rosa drains dagger as Magnolia denies NorthPort]
It was the only points of the game for Dela Rosa, who was 1-of-8 from the field, including 1-of-5 from the three-point region.
But that didn’t stop Dela Rosa from trying to find his shots. And when it finally did, he got a huge hug from Calvin Abueva.
“I was struggling the whole game, I couldn’t make shots. But at least I made the one that counted the most,” he said afterwards.
It’s good the rest of the Hotshots kept encouraging him to continue shooting.
“I was frustrtated, but they (Hotshots) kept talking to me and said to keep shooting if I’m open,” Dela Rosa said, grateful for the trust given him by his Magnolia teammates.
Guard Jio Jalalon made the game-winning trey possible as he tried to draw the defense to him, before finding Dela Rosa open in the wing.
“He found me and I made the shot,” said the son of former PBA player Romy Dela Rosa. “Couldn’t hesitate on that shot because I was wide open.”
Dela Rosa is glad to help Magnolia break into the win column of this same tournament where it finished runner-up last year to TNT Tropang Giga.
“It was hard losing two, actually two close ones. Last game, we should have won,” he said, obviously referring to Magnolia’s 89-82 overtime loss to new team Converge last week in a game which the Hotshots led by as many as 21 in the second quarter.
“But it is, what it is. We’re just glad to be in the win column, and hopefully, tuluy-tuloy ulit.”
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