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    COLUMN: Defense-oriented Magnolia poisoned by own medicine. See stats

    Hotshots fail to live up to defensive identity in finals vs offensive juggernaut Tropang Giga
    Nov 1, 2021
    Magnolia Hotshots Paul Lee Kelly Williams, Chito Victolero
    PHOTO: PBA Images
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    (Editor's note: Custom advanced numbers are courtesy of Ryan Alba, proprietor of Stats by Ryan' on DribbleMedia.com — a collection of advanced stats for the PBA that uses up-to-date totals and formulas from both NBA.com/Stats and Basketball Reference, as well as other independent hoops websites.)

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    In basketball, it pays to have a short memory when dealing with tough losses.

    Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero understands just as much. Two days after a promising campaign in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup ended in five games against a TNT side that just ended a six-year title drought, the amicable Hotshots mentor appears focused on savoring a well-deserved rest while lightly keeping note of the work in store for his team after a self-imposed two-week break.

    "Home sweet home na," remarked Victolero, who spoke on the phone from his abode in Santa Maria, Bulacan. "Pahinga lang kami ng at least two weeks siguro. Depende yan sa balik ng PBA, kung anong date ang second conference. But we need to rest for a minimum of two weeks. Daming injuries eh."

    Some time away from a stinging defeat is necessary, especially since Magnolia will be doing a lot of retrospection on the things that went wrong against the Tropang GIGA once they buckle down to work again mid-November.

    The Hotshots, however, won't be looking back at the whole experience from a perspective of regret. After all, their recent campaign, by all means, was a successful one even after falling short of another championship.

    "I'm very proud of my players and what we've achieved. The main goal is to win the championship, pero talagang hanggang andoon lang ang kinaya namin," he said. "Kung mabibigyan kami ng chance, I think we will be better compared to this series."

    Magnolia Hotshots runner-up 2021 PBA Philippine Cup Finals

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    That series against TNT offers some clues as to where Magnolia can start mending its issues.

    Magnolia Hotshots stats in 2021 PBA PH Cup Finals

    The Hotshots hardly resembled the team that often leaned on defense to successfully create their offense. After entering the series with the third-best offense and a stout defense that held Meralco to two points below their offensive rating for the conference, Magnolia only managed 93.9 points per 100 possessions against TNT while giving up a defensive rating of 105.4 — both the third-lowest marks if stretched for an entire conference.

    Magnolia's defense in the finals simply paled in comparison when you contrast it to their body of work from the first game of the season up until the elimination round. A jarring figure: after allowing the second-lowest mark from long-range (27-percent) in the first 19 games, the Hotshots let TNT bury a blistering 38 percent of their 34.2 attempts from deep during their five-game face-off.

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    "Our goal was to limit our opponents under 88 points. I think for the whole series, 'di namin nagawa yun. We won Game 3, but mataas pa rin ang score, We have a problem with our defense talaga nitong championship," Victolero conceded. "But I think that's our strength and maco-correct naman namin yan during the offseason."

    Their shabby work on defense appears to have affected their offense, where Magnolia failed to get consistent production from some of their top stars. Injuries to Paul Lee (shoulder), Ian Sangalang (back), and Mark Barroca (hamstring) didn't help and all forced them to shoot below average, and only a healthy and pinpoint Calvin Abueva (15.6 points on 45.4/36.4/80 shooting splits for a 57.2 true shooting percentage) prevented things from becoming much worse for the Hotshots on that end.

    "I don't want to use injuries as an excuse. Syempre ayaw naman namin mag-sour-graping dito sa nangyari," Victolero clarified. "But I'm very proud of the effort of these players. Kahit anong nararamdaman nila, they always told me na, 'Laban lang kami, coach' kahit na alam kong meron silang nararamdaman."

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    Compounding their issues was their turnover count. Magnolia coughed the rock 19.2 times a game in the series — two more than the most error-prone team this conference in Meralco — and gave up 21.8 points off turnovers and 12 fastbreak points. Against a TNT team that finished the all-Filipino tournament as the second-best team in transition and as the squad with the most points off errors, that just wouldn't cut it.

    "Ang opensa namin, siguro may mga bad shooting nights kami, but our main problem talaga was our turnovers. Lahat ng talo namin, sa turnovers," Victolero noted. "May factor din 'yung depensa ng TNT siguro. Hindi ko pa rin talaga nakikita, papag-aralan ko pa. But sa initial meetings naming mga coaches, may factor din 'yung depensa nila. They were aggressive, they created a lot of turnover points."

    Victolero recalled two quarters that seemed to be the undoing of the Hotshots in the final two games.

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    In Game 4, TNT turned a 24-all first quarter into a 57-39 halftime lead after a careless Magnolia squad turned the ball over 12 times in the second quarter, leading to 18 points off turnovers for the Tropang GIGA.

    "Sobrang laki. 'Yung points off errors namin 'yung naging lamang nila in the first half," he lamented.

    It was practically the same story in the title-clinching Game 5, where TNT got 15 points off of Magnolia's 10 turnovers to take a commanding 47-33 lead at the break.

    "That's the strength of TNT — the turnover points, the fastbreak points, and the second-chance points. If we minimized that, makukuha sana namin 'yung goal na i-hold sila under 88 points. Pero dahil nahihirapan kami ma-minimize yon, lumalaki 'yung score nila at nahihirapan kami," Victolero explained.

    "Pag-aaralan ko pa ngayong offseason 'yung nangyari. But that's the problem," he added. "We have to minimize the turnovers, especially if you're facing a very good defensive team."

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    Magnolia is also looking at other fixes, like managing his rotation to balance out the minutes of the starters and the bench. One possible tweak: staggering minutes to get Lee and prized rookie Jerrick Ahanmisi on the floor together.

    Jerrick Ahanmisi Magnolia vs TNT

    Ahanmisi's calling card is his shooting. He's still a bit one-dimensional in that regard — 78.6 percent of his field goal attempts have come from long range, which is the fourth-highest mark among all players — but he does the job and has hit 33.3 percent of his 3s. A fun stat: the former Adamson star was fourth in the league in triples made per 36 minutes at 3.1, just behind gunners Allein Maliksi of Meralco, TNT's Mikey Williams, and Alaska's Robbie Herndon.

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    But Ahanmisi is still pretty limited. Advanced stats say he was a minus defender the past conference, and he doesn't do a lot of playmaking (1.6 assists per 36 minutes). Victolero, though, said the Hotshots are taking a patient approach when it comes to their young talent.

    "He's a rookie, so we have to understand na bago siya sa sistema. We try to train Jerrick to be a two-way player," Victolero began. "Meron siyang shooting, yes, he can score, but gusto namin maging defensive guard siya. Gusto namin maging mala-Mark Barroca siya, maging Justin Melton 'yung depensa niya. So we try to teach Jerrick the technique and everything. It takes time. We are very patient with Jerrick. Hindi 'yan overnight."

    Those Lee-Ahanmisi minutes probably won't be good defensively, especially for a Magnolia team relying on their point-of-attack defense to cover up some questionable rim protection, but that pairing has a ton of potential offensively. Victolero saw a peep of it in the second quarter of Game 5, where the duo combined to score 13 of the team's 19 points as the Hotshots struggled to get something going on offense. (Ahanmisi was a +8 in a quarter that Magnolia lost by seven.)

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    "We want him also to play both the 1 and 2 positions para matulungan niya 'yung guards namin in orchestrating our offense also," Victolero continued. "I think three or four minutes of that second quarter, medyo maganda 'yung combination nila. Titingnan ko kung pwede damihan or pwede pagsabayin. Dati kasi kapag pahinga si Paul, Jerrick will come in. Now, susubukan ko na pwede sila sabay. Pwede namin pag-aralan 'yan before the start of the second conference."

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      It should be encouraging for the players that Victolero is bent on working with the same crew that he just coached to the finals. While the mentor isn't closing the door on the possibility of bolstering the lineup via trade sometime in the future, all his attention and energy are directed towards a future with this exact core that he has grown to love.

      "Hindi naman natin masasabi yan. Wala namang kasiguraduhan diyan. That's the reality. I want to be honest," the coach said when asked if Magnolia might swing for a trade in the future. "Of course, hindi naman natin alam, 'di ba. If there's an opportunity also na mag-improve 'yung team, bakit hindi?

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      "But I'd go to war with these soldiers again. Kahit na sino, hindi ko ipagpapalit 'yung klase ng puso at binibigay nilang will and desire," he furthered. "I told them that I love them all, that I trust them, and that I want to go again to battle with these guys. We need to stay together, believe and trust each other, and don't blame each other dahil walang may kasalanan diyan kundi ako lang. Ang importante is magsama-sama kami."

      Losing in five games to a more coordinated TNT team is painful yes, but Victolero's Magnolia subscribes to the idea that that what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. These Hotshots will get over the hump sooner than later; until then, they'll continue to build good habits and soldier on.

      "We will get better sa mga experience na nakuha namin since ito yung first finals appearance nitong core na binuo ko — we have seven holdovers from our core from the last championship nung 2018. Sinabi ko sa kanila na hindi lang ito yung dadaanan namin. Through the next conference, next season, sila-sila pa rin naman yung magkakasama," Victolero expressed.

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      "We're wounded. But we'll keep on fighting," he closed.

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      PHOTO: PBA Images
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