THEY say setbacks are setups for comebacks.
And Mark Barroca is hoping Magnolia can pull off one as the Hotshots saw themselves falling into a 0-2 hole in PBA Philippine Cup semifinals against Rain or Shine following a 93-80 loss in Game Two on Sunday night.
The Hotshots skipper underlined the team’s poor performance as he contributed only two points on 1-of-8 shooting and committed three turnovers in almost 28 minutes as a starter, although he collected two boards and two assists.
“Wala pa 'yung fire namin ngayon eh,” Barroca said. “Pagdating [namin mula] nung game ng Ginebra parang nawala rin kami eh. Parang nag-relax, akala namin pagpasok ng semifinals ganito mangyayari.”
But Barroca is hoping the Hotshots can mirror what they did against Ginebra in the quarterfinals where the Hotshots overhauled a 0-1 deficit by winning the next two games to advance to the Final Four.
“Hopefully magising kami, parang katulad nung na-1-0 kami ng Ginebra,” the Hotshots veteran playmaker said. “So yun yung motivation namin, ngayon na backs against the wall. Kasi pag makuha pa nila yung Game Three, mahirap na makabalik.”
Barroca, who turns 33 on April 25, credited the E-Painters for doing their homework of studying the Hotshots’ patterns.
“Siguro nai-scout na nila kami,” Barroca said. “Nasa amin na yun kung paano namin... kung ano yung ibinibigay ng depensa samin, kasi lahat kami hirap din kami eh, hirap kaming pumuntos, hirap kaming magexecute -- parang alam na nila yung gagawin namin.”
“Kailangan lang namin yung fire lang kasi parang nawala yung depensa namin,” he added ahead of Game Three on Tuesday night also at the Big Dome.
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