STANDING on the fringes of the playoff picture in the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup, the Star Hotshots look to strengthen their quarterfinal bid as they take on the Blackwater Elite today in a key ball game at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
Set as the curtain-raiser at 4:15 p.m., the Hotshots (4-4), currently ninth in the standings and are outside looking in for a spot in the next round of the season-opening Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) tournament, try to pad their record and throw themselves back in the mix of possible playoff qualifiers against Blackwater (5-5), itself out to fortify its hold of a quarters seat in its final elimination round game.
As per Philippine Cup format, the top eight teams from the 12-team field at the end of the elimination round advance to the quarterfinals with the bottom four teams outright eliminated.
To date, the San Miguel Beermen (9-1) are assured of taking the top seat with spots 2 to 8 still to be determined. Already eliminated are the Meralco Bolts (3-7), Mahindra Floodbuster (2-7) and NLEX Road Warriors (2-7).
The Hotshots enter today’s contest coming off a win over TNT KaTropa, 88-77, on Jan. 15 that stopped the bleeding for them after losing back-to-back games previously.
Against the KaTropa, big men Ian Sangalang and Aldrech Ramos led the way as the Hotshots set the tempo from wire-to-wire.
Mr. Sangalang had 14 points and six rebounds while Mr. Ramos finished with 13 markers and seven boards.
Forward Allein Maliksi had 13 points as well. Gilas Pilipinas pool member Paul Lee wound up with 10 points, three rebounds and two steals.
For Star coach Chito Victolero, if they are to figure prominently in the race down the stretch, it is important for them to hold up on defense and have the mental toughness.
“Our defense has to hold up and the mental toughness has to be there in the end. We have to learn from our mistakes and be consistent with our play from here on,” said after the game by Mr. Victolero, whose wards still have two games left after today -- against Meralco and Mahindra in that order.
ABOVE .500 RECORD
Standing in the way of Star while also attempting to boost its thrust is Blackwater, eyeing an above .500 record as it finishes it elimination round assignments and hoping for the best.
The Elite lost to the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, 99-90, on Jan. 20, their third loss in four games that greatly affective their playoff hopes.
In the Barangay Ginebra game, Roi Sumang, Mac Belo and Raymond Aguilar had solid games but were not enough to tow their team to the all-important victory.
Mr. Sumang, experiencing a career resurgence with Blackwater, had 20 points, three rebounds and four assists while prized rookie Belo tallied 16 points, nine rebounds and two assists. Journeyman Aguilar, meanwhile, had 16 points.
Following the Star-Blackwater tiff is the equally important main game between TNT (5-4) and GlobalPort Batang Pier (5-4) at 7 p.m. Both teams need the win to further their respective causes as the classification phase closes.
Meanwhile, Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters rookie Matthew Wright was adjudged PBA player of the week for the period of Jan. 16 to 22.
In two games during the stretch -- wins over the NLEX Road Warriors and Barangay Ginebra -- the freshman player averaged 15 points, 8.5 rebounds and seven assists.
In winning the award, 25-year-old Wright, a member of the Gilas Pilipinas player pool, beat teammates JC Intal, Simon Enciso and Willy Wilson San Miguel’s Arwind Santos, Meralco’s Cliff Hodge, TNT’s Troy Rosario and Roger Pogoy, Alaska Aces’ Vic Manuel and Calvin Abueva and Barangay Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson.