For ROS and Magnolia, all four of the teams’ pre-season games have been victories.
As both teams recorded their fourth victories on Sunday at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and the Magnolia Hotshots remained unbeaten in the PBA On Tour pre-season games. But it was made clear by the coaches of the unbeaten clubs that none of them is getting overexcited.
“It’s always nice to win of course, pero at the same time, we don’t want to fall into a false sense of confidence,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said after his squad’s dominant 121-95 win over the Terrafirma Dyip, as quoted by the PBA.
“Akala mo magaling ka na, eh hindi pa naman totohanan ito. So mahaba pa ‘yan, malayo pa.”
Magnolia mentor Chito Victolero echoes the fiery drillmaster’s assessment.
“Hindi ito ‘yung gauge naman. Hindi ito ‘yung kung ano ang tatakbuhin namin ngayon, hindi basehan ito para ‘yun din ang tatakbuhin namin for the regular season,” the veteran tactician explained following the Hotshots’ 91-80 triumph over the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
Both Guiao and Victolero acknowledged the significance of their teams’ exemplary accomplishments going into the 48th season of the PBA amidst their modest assessments of their teams’ early success.
The Hotshots’ major objective, according to the 2018 PBA Coach of the Year, is to get ready for the next conferences, starting with the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
“We want to build, and magkaroon kami ng progression dun sa mga ginagawa namin at magkaroon ng improvement,” Victolero divulged.
“I-build ‘yung confidence ng mga player, ‘yung chemistry nila. ‘Yan ‘yung mga gusto naming ma-practice.”
The seven-time PBA champion coach rigorously approaches the PBA On Tour matches as a component of his team’s total pre-season training.
“Ang importante ‘yung nakakapaglaro kami, to gain experience, to learn, to validate ourselves, gain more confidence, and be able to run our system,” Guiao pointed out.
Rain or Shine and Magnolia will be hoping to build on their strong pre-season campaigns to have a good performance in October as the new PBA season begins.
