Hotshots still underdogs vs Beermen, Victolero admits

MANILA, Philippines -- Despite tying the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals, the Magnolia Hotshots are still considering themselves the underdogs against the San Miguel Beermen.

The Hotshots equalized the series at 2-2 with a 96-85 win in Game 4 on Friday night.

With the finals turning into a virtual best-of-three series, Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero said they remain the underdogs against the hot-shooting Beermen.

“Actually there’s no advantage right now, we just tied the series. Nothing to celebrate. Just need to prepare hard for the next game,” he told reporters after the win.

“I know they are adjusting to our own adjustments. But I like the effort and the aura of my team. We’re doing well right now, offensive and defensively, but it’s not an advantage,” he added.

“We’re still the underdogs for this series.”

In their back-to-back wins, the Beermen were held under 90 points after scoring 103 and 109 points in Games 1 and 2, respectively.

They were also able to contain San Miguel import Bennie Boatwright, especially in Game 4 when he shot just 5-of-16 from the field for 16 points.

Boatwright, who usually scores in bunches, saw different touches in the past two games.

Victolero also lauded the Hotshots’ resiliency for crawling out of the 0-2 hole.

“That’s one of our key factors, the resiliency of the team. Actually that’s our quote for this game. I said last game that the two days rest gave us good preparation. We were tired coming from that series against Phoenix. But that two-day rest gives us fresh legs, fresh minds and it helped us a lot,” he said.

“Right now, we just need to dig deep, we just need to grind this game five so that we can have another two days rest but again, this is not over. We like our chances,” the mentor added.

Magnolia and San Miguel will battle for the 3-2 lead in the pivotal Game 5 on Sunday evening at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.