Paul Lee is refusing to dwell on Magnolia’s sluggish start to the conference although he admitted that the Hotshots now have a little room for error if they want to advance to the playoffs, more so, be in the top four teams which will get a twice-to-beat incentive.
The Hotshots fell short anew, this time against the San Miguel Beermen, 100-98, on Sunday, Feb. 5, and now have lost their first three games in the conference.
Instead of dwelling on another tough loss, the Magnolia star instead shifted his focus to their next game against a fellow struggling team in Phoenix on Thursday.
“We can't do anything about it, talo na kami siguro we need to focus on the next game kasi yun naman yung importante sa amin. ‘Yun ‘yung kailangan namin paghandaan, hopefully, makuha namin yung panalo dun, first win namin this conference,” said Lee.
The veteran point guard did everything he could to help Magnolia notch its first win against SMB, but even his efforts of 19 points, four assists and two rebounds were not enough to complete their late fightback.
“Hanggang dulo di gumive up yung team. We still tried to win the game until the last part binigay naman yung lahat namin pero kinapos pa rin kami so moving forward to the next game,” he added.
The Hotshots are no strangers to the position they are currently in, having been able to overcome a 0-3 start in the 2019 Philippine Cup and even reached the Finals against the eventual champion SMB.
However, it’s a must now for the team to start winning to get a chance for a favorable position in the playoffs
“One thing na sinabi ni coach Chito sa amin na we still have a lot of games pero yun nga kailangan mga 7 out of 8 na kami dun kung gusto namin na pumasok. Kasi top 4 twice to beat medyo mahirap na makapasok kami ng playoffs pero dun kami sa disadvantage,” added the veteran guard.