ADAMSON coach Nash Racela has always known Vince Magbuhos as a reliable hand up front, one who's not scared to take the open shot and do the dirty work to help the team succeed.
Yet it still came as a surprise to him that the Rome-raised forward can light it up from deep -- one that he came to realize on Wednesday.
Magbuhos went nuclear as he shot a mercurial 7-of-8 clip from deep for a career-best 23 points, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in Adamson's 76-65 triumph over Far Eastern University.
Racela on Vince Magbuhos
"I was thinking after the game, marunong pala shumoot itong si Vince. Now, I'm thinking what if he took those open three-pointers?," said Racela as his Soaring Falcons nabbed back-to-back wins.
For his part, Magbuhos is just grateful for the continued trust that the team gives him now in his fourth season in San Marcelino.
"Sa tingin ko hindi naman magiging ganoon ang performance ko kung hindi ako binibigyan ng playing time at kumpyansa nila coach. Nagpapasalamat ako kila coach kasi binibigyan nila ako ng trust," said the 6-foot-5 forward.
Magbuhos' hot streak may have came as a shock for some, but Racela only sees it as a positive for Adamson in its Final Four drive.
"Malaking bagay ito sa amin moving forward, yung contribution ni Vince," said the soft-spoken mentor, with the Soaring Falcons looking for consistent contributions from the supporting cast to back the leadership of Jerom Lastimosa.
"I can't emphasize enough that Jerom has been doing the right things in giving up the ball. I really feel na sometimes nga na he gives up the ball too much at kailangan niya na mag-take charge pero hindi pa rin niya ginagawa. But he's at that point where he's looking for that balance lalo na today na we lost Joem [Sabandal] early in the game."
"We were looking for other guys to step forward and ang maganda is there's no one guy that stepped forward but it was a collective team effort. Lahat ng hinugot namin, nakakatulong especially sa defensive end. I know those little things would really help us sa mga next games."
Magbuhos, too, acknowledges this and looks forward to sustaining this groove of his.
"Yun yung laging sinasabi ni coach, na hindi naman palagi na nandyan si Jerom. Meron din siyang mga off day. So like sila Joem, sila [Joshua] Yerro, everybody needs to step up kasi it's a team eh, hindi naman individual yung basketball. So everybody kailangan mag-step up," he said.
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.
