WHILE Zavier Lucero welcomes the long breaks in PBA Season 50, he still believes the disadvantages far outweigh its advantages.
The third-year big man believes the stop-and-go nature of the Governors' Cup schedule is messing up not just the Magnolia Hotshots but all the players in the league in its season-ending conference.
Just look at Magnolia's schedule.
The Hotshots were riding a four-game win streak when the league went on a 53-day break for Gilas Pilipinas’ campaign in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers and the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.
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After winning back-to-back games at the resumption, the Hotshots are once more off to a 10-day respite.
Lucero said the long breaks are taking a toll on the players physically and mentally.
“As a player it’s always nice to be playing games. Sometimes if you had a bad game, it’s easy to move on when you had another game, you have to move on,” he said.
“So anyone who had a bad game on a Friday, then you come into this game and you don’t have any time to think about it,” added the University of the Philippines alumnus. “But when you had two months to think about, that’s a little bit.”
Lucero, a member of the Gilas team that saw action in the Asiad, had a big game in the 112-93 drubbing of Barangay Ginebra as he submitted 21 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
He’s a steady presence for Magnolia coming off the long break, averaging 19.0 points, six rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 steals in the two games of the Hotshots including in the 107-101 win over Blackwater, making him a prime candidate for the Player of the Week honor.
Those twin victories propelled Magnolia to the top of Group B with a 6-3 record - enough to secure a berth in the best-of-five quarterfinals.
It likewise extended the Hotshots’ winning streak to five games – the longest since coach LA Tenorio took over the team. Unfortunately, the momentum will have to be set aside anew with the looming long break for the Hotshots.
“They get bored actually, yung mga players,” said Tenorio of the constant breaks the league is taking in its 50th anniversary season.
For Lucero, the Hotshots will just use the long rest to get ready and be better for the playoffs.
“We get a good amount of rest, we get a good amount [of time] to work on our stuff as a team,” he said. “I think for us, we’ll use it to the best of our ability and be ready for the next game when they come.”
Magnolia won’t return to action until Oct. 21 when it battles Rain or Shine for its final game of the eliminations.
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