MAGNOLIA Chicken Timplados coach Chito Victolero doesn’t mind the expectations to the team after the Hotshots displayed a remarkable showing during the preseason.
Chito Victolero on Magnolia expectations
The Hotshots enter the 48th season of the PBA as the de facto champion of the PBA on Tour after winning all 11 games during the exhibition series.
Among those that has high expectations is no less than Magnolia team governor Rene Pardo, who wants nothing less than a championship that would end the Hotshots’ five-year title drought.
Victolero is embracing the challenge.
“Every conference naman, that’s our goal,” said Victolero. “Every conference, we are in the semis or in the finals. But sometimes, medyo kinakapos kami. But that’s our goal every conference.”
“We have the material and I think the improvement of the players will help us regain that championship.
The Hotshots’ last title came in 2018 when they captured the Governors’ Cup finals against Alaska.
“Tama naman si Gov. The last time we won the championship is 2018 and the last time we are in the finals is in the bubble. I think that was two years ago. We want to feel again and experience again the finals and the championship. We have the same mission. We are one page in that mission and the goal is to win the championship.”
But for that to come into fruition, Victolero emphasized the importance of a good start in order to achieve that ultimate goal of a championship.
The Hotshots will face TNT on November 5 to kick off the 48th season of the league at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
“But again, we have to start on the first step. We don’t want to rush it. We want to emphasize the training and the preparation. Hopefully, ‘yung goal namin is tumugma this conference with the addition of the new guys Abu (Tratter), Joseph (Eriobu), and David (Murrell), and with the help of our import plus the improvement of the other role players like James (Laput), Jerick (Ahanmisi), and Aris (Dionisio).”
“I support Gov. to that and ‘yun ang task namin ngayon as a team. Get into the playoffs and go back to the finals,” said Victolero.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
