Hotshots, Macklin battle Fuel Masters

Manila, Philippines — Magnolia banks on veteran PBA import Vernon Macklin to fill in a hole in the middle as the Hotshots play their first game from their all-Filipino runner-up finish, going up against the Phoenix Fuel Masters in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the MOA Arena tonight.

The Fuel Masters have played two games, getting off to a triumphant start on 107-102 drubbing of the Blackwater Elite before dropping a 98-106 setback against the TNT KaTropa Texters.

The Hotshots and the Fuel Masters square off at 4:30 p.m. preceding the 6:45 p.m. showdown between the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the TNT KaTropa Texters.

“It’s our first game and we’ll try to bring back our rhythm, timing and chemistry,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero.

“We will be facing a hungry team so we need to be ready and sharp because they’re playing well now. We have to be ready for their physical game,” Victolero added.

The Magnolia bench chieftain has high hope on Macklin whom he believes is a good fit to his team and the system they’re playing.

 Meanwhile, Ginebra will now have a benefit of a weeklong preparation with import Chuck Garcia, making it a dangerous team versus TNT.

With a mere one-day practice with Garcia, the Kings were pathetic in their 89-108 loss to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on April 29 over at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Now that our import had a full week of practice without issues, we’re hoping he can put a better performance together and live up to his potential,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone. “But we need our locals to step up as well. TNT is such a tough matchup for us because they have such different strengths than us.”

Also an advantage for the Texters are they’re fresher with a longer breather following back-to-back triumphs over the GlobalPort Batang Pier (128-114) and the Phoenix Fuel Masters (106-96).

Jeremy Tyler and his teammates hope to keep their sharpness as they brace for a battle with Garcia and the Gin Kings.

TNT coach Nash Racela refused to be carried away by their 2-0 start, saying it’s too early in the conference and they have yet to meet the top contenders.

But their topnotch showing against GlobalPort and Phoenix certainly speaks well of the Texters’ potential.

Another good sign was Terrence Romeo’s 21-point outing against the Fuel Masters.

In his TNT debut against his former team GlobalPort, the former three-time PBA scoring champ struggled for only 11 markers.