The Magnolia Hotshots fight on in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup.
With Magnolia fighting for survival, it turned to its defense.
The Hotshots dominated early qualifier Eastern, 107-78, to pump life into its fading quarterfinal hopes in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo Sunday, Jan. 26.
It's all about having the proper mindset in the high-stakes game.
"The word is survival," said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero.
"So we tried to approach this game with a sense of urgency, with the proper mindset. And that's our call — the defense. With our backs against the wall, in a do or die situation, we go to our strength: it is our defense," he added.
The Hotshots held the guest team to just 12 points in the second quarter to post a 50-31 advantage at the break.
They never let up en route to hiking their lead to as much as 29 points at the final buzzer.
Ricardo Ratliffe took charge in the first half, where he poured 16 of his game-best 25 points.
Then, Jerom Lastimosa chipped in, unloading 16 points in the last two quarters after a four-point outing in the initial 24 minutes of play.
Meanwhile, Zav Lucero was reliable all game-long with his 20 points.
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Ian Sangalang, named Player of the Game, scored 14 while Mark Barroca added 11.
Chris McLaughlin led Eastern with 20 points, Glen Yang and Kobey Lam combined for 27 but Hayden Blankley and Ramon Cao were limited to just nine points apiece.
The lengthy break since last seeing action on Jan. 16 against Phoenix helped Magnolia address its mistakes.
The result? They improved to joint eighth with NLEX and San Miguel at 5-6. Later in the night, the Beermen dropped to 10th after bowing to TNT, 115-97, for a 5-7 record.
"We want to clean up everything doon sa mga mistakes namin, sa mga kulang namin. The long break, 'yung 10-day break namin, magandang nangyari para sam'in 'yun. Because we cleaned up everything, lahat ng mga kulang namin. We're so focused," said Victolero.
Victolero also lauded his players' dedication in their latest practice sessions as they all move toward the same goal of making it to the next round.
"I want to give credit to the players because for the last six practices, they are so focused. They have that proper mindset," said Victolero.
"And the goal is to survive. Now, we will live another day. We would try to prepare again for our next game," he added.