PAUL Lee’s performance in the PBA All-Star Weekend has served as a warning to Meralco to keep an eye on the Magnolia star in their Governors’ Cup quarterfinals beginning on Wednesday.
The fourth-seeded Bolts hold a twice-to-beat advantage against the fifth-ranked Hotshots in a match-up that is expected to be another highly defensive affair.
But for Meralco to advance to the semifinals on the first attempt, Black said one of the keys to a win is to contain Lee, who had a tremendous performance in Passi, Iloilo when the PBA staged its All-Star festivities last week.
Lee captured the All-Star Game MVP after scoring 32 points and knocking down seven four-pointers (or a distance from outside 27 feet) to lift Team Japeth to the victory over Team Scottie.
The Magnolia star also captured the Three-Point Shootout, proving that he is one of the premier shooters in the league.
“He has been red hot lately,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.
Aside from Lee, another player that will be a threat to Meralco’s bid to reach the semifinals is import Antonio Hester, who has been a picture of consistency and efficiency since coming in as a replacement to Eric McCree.
“We’ve got to somehow try to slow down both Hester and Paul Lee. Hester, because he is a productive player,” said Black.
Black is also wary of Magnolia’s defense, which is built to force opponents to commit turnovers and turn these errors into quick points.
“I expect that both teams offensively will struggle when trying to beat the other team’s defense. We try to prepare the best we can for our opposing team and coach (Chito Victolero) is the same way. He prepares his team well.”
“For us, it’s important that we limit our turnovers. We both play good defense but different types of defense. We are more of a team that tries to (defend) what’s in front of us, control your movements, and once you take the shot, we try to control the rebound. We limit you to one shot.”
“On the other side, their defense is centered around taking the ball away from you. The important thing is to limit our turnovers because it sometimes leads to fastbreak points for the Magnolia team. We have to take care of the basketball. That’s important.”
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