CHICAGO - As shown by its parade of four reinforcements in the PBA Governors' Cup, Magnolia has a well-documented history of getting unreasonably jumpy when it comes to keeping its imports.
So when Ricardo Ratliffe had a dismal 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting clip in the Hotshots' 107-104 loss to NorthPort last December 4, the fate of his tenure came into question.
Well, hold off the pink slip.
READ Former KBL teammates RHJ, Ratliffe get reacquainted in PBA
Despite logging a 1-3 won-lost record and the pressure to win suffocating the coaching staff like a vise grip, it looks like Magnolia is sticking with the former Korean national team campaigner - for now.
Since that NorthPort game where hints of a potential injury surfaced, Ratliffe has rebounded nicely in the Hotshots' 103-100 defeat to TNT where he carded 27 points on 11-of-17 shooting
SOLID NUMBERS
In four Commissioner's Cup games, Ratliffe is averaging 23 points, 16 rebounds and 2.7 assists. The American from Missouri is hitting 54.9 percent from the field (37-of-68) and 57.1 percent from 3 (4-of-7).
Racliffe's Achilles heel, however, is free throw shooting where he is a dismal 14-of-26. But that alone won't cause the 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward from keeping his current PBA job.
"Ang laki ng gastos ng management sa apat na imports last conference," a team source told me, obviously implying that import fatigue may be the reason why the Hotshots aren't looking for any changes at this time.
Unfortunately for Magnolia, this awful start could get worse as the team has yet to face the deadly triangle of San Miguel, guest team Hong Kong Eastern and crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra.
On how those games shape up could determine whether Magnolia gets jumpy once again with their 35-year old foreign reinforcement.
A BRIGHT TOMORROW.
Beneath their current struggles, though, a reassuring promise has emerged in the point guard slot.
Jerom Lastimosa is playing with a toughness and maturity beyond his 26 years. Through four games, the rookie out of Adamson is averaging a hefty 17 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists while easing seamlessly into coach Chito Victolero's regular rotation.
After spending nearly a year rehabbing a torn ACL, it's clear that the pride of Dumaguete has spent extra time on the gym as evidenced by his extremely high accuracy rate.
The 5-foot-11 playmaker is hitting 55.5 percent from the field overall (25-of-45), 80 percent from 3 (8-of-10) and 75 percent from the free throw stripe (6-of-8).
Beginning in 2016, the dazzling duo of Mark Barroca and Jio Jalalon had been a staple at Magnolia, a backcourt that carried the franchise to a Governors' Cup title in 2018.
Jalalon has since been shipped to NorthPort while Barroca, at age 38, is beginning to descend from a fabulous career that saw him win six PBA crowns while making nine All-Star appearances.
Once a perennial championship contender, the Hotshots have long been removed from their glory days.
But with Jerom Lastimosa balling la vida loca, a neon-bright future is dawning.
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