LOSING back-to-back games for the first time in the PBA Governors' Cup and facing outright elimination, Paul Lee still likes the chances of the embattled Magnolia Hotshots.
The veteran guard from Tondo remains hopeful the Hotshots can bounce back big against the Meralco Bolts and force a do-or-die game in their best-of-five semifinals series which the top seeded team is suddenly trailing, 1-2.
No thanks to a 101-95 loss in Game 3 Sunday night before a crowd of 13,372 at the Mall of Asia Arena, Magnolia is now unexpectedly on the brink of extinction in a tournament it methodically dominated earlier on.
Despite the odds, Lee is not counting out the Hotshots yet.
"We still have a chance naman. The coaches remind us to just keep on grinding, and we've got a few days of preparation heading to Game 4," he said about the Hotshots, who also lost Game 2, 81-75.
"We're down, but still we're not out."
Lee though was held to just five points on 2-of-9 shooting the previous game, the effect of the left ankle sprain he sustained just before the start of the semifinals finally creeping in.
The warrior that he is, Lee is not about to make it as an excuse.
He said the two days in between Games 3 and 4 would be good enough for him to rest and hopefully, recuperate from the injury that he admitted has been bothering him.
"Wala naman tayong magagawa diyan. Just control the things that I can," said Lee, who actually takes with him the medical kit provided by the Magnolia conditioning coaches for him to personally monitor his injury even at home.
"Pagaling lang, hang on, and let's see what happens in the next game." (RG)(PBA)
(Photo credits to: PBA)