Hotshots bank on pair of big bounce backs to win against Beermen

SURROUNDED and all by a charging power, Magnolia isn’t ready to submit to a San Miguel Beer (SMB) rule.

A major source of the Hotshots’ confidence comes from having previously wiped out SMB’s 2-0 running start with a pair of big bounce back wins.

“I feel good. We came down from 0-2 (to tie it). We could do it again. We could win two more games, why not?” said import Tyler Bey, whose team will first try to stop San Miguel Beer from delivering the death blow in tomorrow’s Game 6 before thinking of winning it all in a decider.

“We’re a great team. I don’t feel like our backs are against the wall. We’re down one and they got one more game to go. But I believe in this team, I believe in the coaching staff and I believe in myself as well so (I’m) pretty confident.”

For the Magnolia Hotshots to succeed, they have to be primed to get SMB’s vast arsenal, not just Bennie Boatwright and June Mar Fajardo, stymied, if not silenced. In Game 5, Jericho Cruz did a lot of damage with his 30-point sizzler spiked by eight three-pointers, mostly on open looks.

“We can’t just let guys go off for 30. We got to respect everybody on their team,” said Mr. Bey.

“Mr. Cruz got off eight treys. He had a great game; he did what he had to do. For us, I felt like we just didn’t adjust quickly enough. We took him lightly and that’s our problem. We didn’t respect him enough and we paid for it.” — Olmin Leyba