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PBA: Magnolia coach blames 'breaks of the game,' not title hangover, for loss to TNT

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/02/11/chito-victolero-021017.jpg"/></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines – Coming off a title victory in the 2018 PBA Governors&#x27; Cup, the Magnolia Hotshots failed to open their campaign in the 2019 All-Filipino Cup on a similarly high note.The Hotshots fell prey to TNT in a defensive grind, with the KaTropa hacking out an 80-75 win in overtime.Asked if the Hotshots were still nursing a &quot;title hangover,&quot; head coach Chito Victolero said his team entered the game with the right mindset.&quot;Natural lang naman &#x27;yan but maganda naman &#x27;yung mindset nila ngayon e,&quot; he said. &quot;Breaks of the game lang talaga.&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://sports.abs-cbn.com/pba/news/2019/02/04/cj-perez-bags-first-pba-rookie-month-award-52991">READ: CJ Perez bags first PBA Rookie of the Month award</a></li></ul>Victolero said his team still has yet to recover its rhythm after taking a break following last year&#x27;s campaign, and an ill-timed injury to Paul Lee did not help. The veteran guard – the Best Player of the Conference in the 2018 Governors&#x27; Cup – jammed his right thumb in practice and further aggravated the injury during the first half of Sunday&#x27;s game.&quot;Okay naman, maganda, hindi ko nga in-expect na ganoon &#x27;yung lalaruin namin because of &#x27;yung timing talaga, sobrang hirap,&quot; said the coach.&quot;Maganda &#x27;yung nilaro namin defensively, but &#x27;yung offense, makikita mo naman na wala pa kami sa timing,&quot; he added. &quot;Sumalo lang sa amin &#x27;yung depensa.&quot;The Hotshots are also far from peak condition, Victolero admitted.&quot;Makikita mo naman talaga mabilis mapagod eh. Halos mga 3 minutes, 4 minutes lang, mabilis ako magpalit ng tao. Talagang wala pa,&quot; he said.Despite all these, they nearly won the game in regulation. The Hotshots had a 72-70 lead in the final 10 seconds, after a split at the line by Jiovani Jalalon. Unfortunately, they miscalculated in the final possession, leaving Troy Rosario open for the game-tying bucket after double-teaming Jayson Castro.The Hotshots&#x27; offense completely fell apart in overtime, where they managed just one field goal.&quot;&#x27;Yung depensa talaga ang bumuhay sa amin. Pero offensively, makikita mo talaga wala sa timing. &#x27;Yung halos lahat ng execution namin, medyo nagmamadali eh,&quot; Victolero said.The good news for Magnolia is that it is just one game, and their coach is optimistic that they can regain their rhythm as the conference progresses.&quot;Habang tumatagal &#x27;yung laro, makukuha namin &#x27;yung timing namin offensively,&quot; Victolero predicted.The Hotshots play again on Sunday against San Miguel Beer.<div>For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.</div>

Coming off a title victory in the 2018 PBA Governors' Cup, the Magnolia Hotshots failed to open their campaign in the 2019 All-Filipino Cup on a similarly high note.

Coming off a title victory in the 2018 PBA Governors' Cup, the Magnolia Hotshots failed to open their campaign in the 2019 All-Filipino Cup on a similarly high note.

PBA: Magnolia coach blames 'breaks of the game,' not title hangover, for loss to TNT

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PBA: Magnolia coach blames 'breaks of the game,' not title hangover, for loss to TNT

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 04, 2019 05:39 PM PHT

Read More:

PBA

PBA Philippine Cup

Magnolia Hotshots

TNT KaTropa

Chito Victolero

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