Magnolia Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero during a PBA Philippine Cup game against Terrafirma Dyip. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Magnolia’s record remained unblemished after five games in the PBA Philippine Cup, but coach Chito Victolero believes there’s no reason to celebrate.
The Hotshots had another dominant showing, this time routing Terrafirma, 127-94, to remain the only undefeated team in the conference at 5-0.
READ: PBA: Magnolia hopes past lessons can sustain strong opening this time
But Victolero was in no mood to revel in being atop the standings–not when there’s still so much work to be done as far as his team is concerned.
“The goal is to finish strong. Yes, we’re happy with our good start but we’re still far from our goal so we’ll keep working hard every time we prepare for these games,” said the Hotshots coach. “We’ll rest for a day and get back on the court.”
As of posting, the Hotshots have no competition for the top seed with San Miguel Beer and NLEX tied for the second spot with identical 3-1 records.
Magnolia Hotshots’ Zavier Lucero during a PBA Philippine Cup game against Terrafirma Dyip –PBA IMAGES
And one of the driving forces’ behind Magnolia’s hot start is Zavier Lucero, who once again had a consistent showing with a near double-double of 17 points and nine rebounds.
But much Victolero, Lucero isn’t too inclined on celebrating their blazing start. In fact, the dynamic forward wants to extend that number even more.
“We’re unbeaten right now and we want to keep it that way,” said Lucero.
“We’ll play the right way and go into it with the right mindset that any team can beat us at any given day. We know that so we have to play and prepare the right way and we’ll be fine,” he added.
The Hotshots look to extend their streak on Sunday, next week, when they face the Road Warriors at Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Pasay.
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