STAR doesn’t plan on cooling down.
The league’s hottest team with eight straight wins, the Hotshots go for another one as they shoot for an insurmountable 3-0 lead over ailing Barangay Ginebra in their best-of-seven semifinals series in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
With Game 3 slated today at 7 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Star, which owns a commanding 2-0 lead, has a golden opportunity to put Barangay Ginebra on the brink and move a step closer to the finals.
Despite a commanding lead on the Gin Kings, Star coach Chito Victolero still doesn’t feel any complacency as he knows the job is still far from done for the Hotshots.
“We need to win four games, we’re only halfway. We have to prepare for what Game 3 brings,” he said.
The talented coach is still wary of Ginebra’s resiliency and capabilities despite falling behind.
“2-0 is nothing if we don’t take this next game. We know Ginebra can comeback and we have to be ready for that,” he said.
Like Game 1, Game 2 last Saturday night also went down the wire with the Hotshots once again coming up on top, 91-89.
Again, Paul Lee led the charge with 17 points and was aided by Allein Maliksi’s 14 markers.
The Gin Kings are now facing another must-win situation as they are hoping to make a series out of it.
At the very least for Ginebra, rookie Kevin Ferrer continued his rise, scoring a career and team-high 25 points in Game 2.
Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar were solid, but LA Tenorio has still yet to find his touch in the series.