Magnolia Hotshots coach Chito Victolero gave a message to his team before the start of Game 4, and they more than heeded his call with a thumping of Rain or Shine in the PBA Governors' Cup quarterfinals.
With their conference on the line, head coach Chito Victolero had one simple instruction to the Magnolia Hotshots ahead of their must-win encounter against Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
“Nandoon sa board ko… sa start ng pre-game namin na it’s all about believing and in order for us to win the war, we need to grind for 48 minutes,” Victolero revealed.
The Hotshots believed they could win, and they did more than grinding to stay alive in the season-opening Governors’ Cup.
Magnolia exploded for 129 total points in a Game 4 rout and looked like the team who moved on quickly following their disappointing Game 3 loss.
[ALSO READ: PBA: Paul Lee, Magnolia take Game 4 to drag Rain or Shine to sudden death in quarterfinal series]
The Hotshots actually stumbled to a slow start, trailing 11-2 early but recovered quickly and banked on a 36-18 second quarter to pull away.
Import Jabari Bird dropped 30 points while Paul Lee added 25 points, with Jerrick Ahanmisi, Mark Barroca, and Ian Sangalang combining for 34 points.
Meanwhile, Aaron Fuller tallied a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Elasto Painters as Jhonard Clarito chipped in 15 points.
Adrian Nocum, Beau Belga, and Andre Caracut chipped in 11 points each, while Gian Mamuyac scored 10 points for the Elasto Painters.
“[I’m] thankful to the players because of the mindset and the focus.I think my players were so focused and they want to have another chance on Saturday.”
Game 5 of the Magnolia-Rain or Shine series is slated on Saturday, October 5 at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.