Pingris, Lee step up to steer Star to proper direction

MANILA, Philippines – When a ball club momentarily forgets how to play their brand of basketball, expect the veterans to be the voice of reason.

 

And the voice of urgency.

 

When such lapse happened to Star against Phoenix on Saturday night, it was Marc Pingris and Paul Lee -- both grizzled and tested cagers of many hooping battles -- who stepped up for the Hotshots in their best-of-three clash.

 

"Sinulat ko dito kanina: ‘Defense against offense,’" Pinrgis, pointing to the dugout's white board, shared. '"So pag wala yung defense niyo, hindi tayo mananalo.' 'Yun yung nawala sa amin kanina. Pagkalabas namin [after  haltime break], binalik lang namin."

 

"Kaya nandito kami sa playoffs dahil sa defense namin," the 6-foot-6 forward, who finished the game with 10 points .

 

A decline on the Hotshots' longtime forward's scoring has triggered alarms for fans and followers. In the team's past four outings -- which resulted in blowout wins -- Pingris' offensive production was limited to just seven points or less.

 

But this should not be of any concern, says chief tactician Chito Victolero.

 

"I know Ping," he said. "In the past few games, sabi niyo, 'di umisscore si Ping eh. But 'di naman scorer si Ping eh. He's my anchor on defense."

 

"He's a veteran," he added. "He knows kung kelan siya mag-step up."

 

And we need not look far for proof, as that halftime break was the biggest testament to that.

 

Lee, although a relatively new member of the squad, also whipped out his long-tested leadership that night. He paced the Star with 22 markers in an affair that almost looked like a replication of Fuel Masters's embarassing loss to the Hotshots by 44 points early in the season.

 

"Ping and Paul, very vocal sila. Malaking tulong 'yun," Victolero said of the team's halftime huddle.

 

The Hotshots will have a chance to close the Fuel Masters out when their series shifts to the Big Dome on Monday afternoon.