Dragons, Hotshots eye shorter route to semis

Calvin Abueva Magnolia Hotshots PBA

Magnolia Hotshots forward Calvin Abueva. pba images

The Magnolia visiting squad may be the best team outside the Bay Area at the end of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup eliminations, but that status means nothing to coach Chito Victolero, who prepares for an uphill task against Phoenix in the quarterfinals. Huh.

“We don’t know what Coach Topex and his team will throw at us,” Victolero said, hoping to give Fuel Masters a two-beat advantage in their clash at PhilSports Arena at 5:45 p.m. ET. in the city of Pasig.

Bay Area, which overtook Magnolia for the top spot despite an identical 10-2 slate, is favored to make short work of heavy underdog Rain or Shine at 3 p.m. as it brings back Andrew Nicholson in exchange for Myles Powell. Is.

Like the Hotshots, the Dragons also carry a two-to-beat edge, a bonus that makes Elasto Painters’ upset bid doubly difficult considering they took the last quarter slot via a playoff win over the NLEX Road Warriors.

However, it appears to be the opposite if Victolero and the Hotshots are asked, despite their 90-80 win over the Fuel Masters at the Yanares Center in Antipolo City.

Six players scored in double figures during that contest, including imports Nick Rakosevic and Calvin Abueva each matching a double-double for Magnolia.

But a repeat of that result would depend on which Phoenix team comes in at tipoff.

travel up and down

Phoenix had a roller-coaster of a campaign, opening the conference at 0–3 before going on a five-game winning run. A three-game skid followed, defeating Terrafirma at the elimination end before cementing their spot in the quarters.

“We expect a dogfight and nothing is going to be easy,” Victolero said. “It’s the playoffs and it’s not going to be an easy game.”

Rakosevic, among the top five players in the early running for the Best Import award, will be eager to make his presence felt and help Magnolia reach the semi-finals as soon as possible.

Robinson and his Fuel Masters haven’t played in 13 days, and the long respite could also affect how they try to take the Hotshots to the decider on Sunday.

Rookies Tyler Teo and Ancho Serrano will be key to accomplishing that quest if their two second-round steals can show how they flourished during eliminations.

The winner of this quarter meeting will face either Barangay Ginebra or Northport in the best of five semi-finals.

Ginebra won the best-of-three opener 118–102 behind Justin Brownlee’s 39-point barrage.

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