MANILA – Magnolia Hotshots is determined to spoil the grand slam bid of sister team San Miguel Beermen as it tries to defend its championship crown in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup which starts on Sept. 20.
Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero said playing the spoiler’s role to the Beermen’s aspirations is an added motivation for his squad but admitted that it is easier said than done.
“Nandoon ‘yung added pressure. Piero added confidence and added motivation din sa amin. We are the defending champion. We are looking forward to this conference,” said Victolero.
Added Victolero, who started the Hotshots’ preparation for the title defense in Aug. 18, “Alam naman namin na San Miguel is also looking for a grand slam. Kailangan lang namin mag-prepare ng maayos.”
Aside from the Beermen, the Hotshots will also keep an eye on the other teams that have brought in quality imports. It is once again tapping the services of reinforcement Romeo Travis.
“Hindi lang naman kami. Lahat ng teams are looking for a great conference like TNT, Ginebra and the others. I think magaganda ‘yung batch ng imports ngayon,” Victolero said.
He added: “We discussed that napakahirap ng competition ngayon. Lahat ng imports na dumating may quality. Magandang labanan ito.”/PN
