Victolero respects Maliksi’s late-game decision in Star’s OT loss to Alaska

MANILA, Philippines – Star Hotshots coach Chito Victolero is not blaming his gunner Allein Maliksi for missing key shots down the stretch in a 97-90 overtime loss to the Alaska Aces on Wednesday, January 11.

Maliksi nearly became the hero as he poured 11 of his team-high 15 points in the fourth quarter, including the long triple with 1:21 left in regulation that tied the game at 86.

ALLEIN MALIKSI CLUTCH THREE! 86-ALL! #PBA2017 pic.twitter.com/CbMQTYxyk3

— PBA (@pbaconnect) January 11, 2017

But as Star gunned for the victory in the last 30 seconds of the fourth, Maliksi muffed the potential go-ahead triple off a designed play from a timeout.

“Sa kanya talaga ‘yung play e. Sa kanya talaga and down the stretch naka-shoot siya, so I feel meron siyang confidence to take the shot,” Victolero explained. 

“I can give it to Paul (Lee) or Marc (Pingris) but I feel that Allein is the best player na nandoon ‘yung confidence so sa kanya talaga ‘yun. Hindi lang pumasok. At ginagawa naman niya ‘yun sa game.”

(That play was for him. It was for him and down the stretch he was able to make a shot so I feel he has the confidence to take the shot. I can give it to Paul or Marc but I feel that Allein is the best player that had the confidence at the time so I gave it to him. It just didn’t go in. But he’s been doing that in the game.)

What raised questions was when Maliksi subsequently missed a rushed jumper off the offensive rebound from his bricked trey with still about 6 seconds left on the clock.

“Decision ng player ‘yun e, so hindi natin pwede kwestyunin ‘yung player doon sa sitwasyon na ‘yun. Diskarte na niya ‘yun. Kung ano man ‘yung diskarte niya nire-respect ko ‘yun. It’s not a bad shot,” Victolero stood by his 29-year-old swingman, who after all forced overtime with his big three-pointer.

“Allein wants to win and I respect that. Hindi ako pwedeng manisi dahil diskarte niya ‘yun. Kung pumasok ‘yun meron ba tayong question ngayon? Wala naman tayong question ngayon. Call ni Allein ‘yun so wala akong problema doon.”

(That’s the player’s decision, so we can’t question the player at that situation. That’s his strategy. Whatever his strategy, I respect that. It’s not a bad shot. Allein wants to win and I respect that. I can’t blame him because that’s his move. If it went in, will we have questions about it now? No. That was Allein’s call so I have no problem with it.)

Maliksi, who had 9 rebounds and an assist, also missed at least one attempt in the extra period. He took responsibility for his decision at crunch time, saying he didn’t have the proper shooting mechanics when he took the jumper off the offensive rebound at the end of regulation.

“It’s just ‘yung proper mechanics ng shot ko. ‘Yung timing nawala, hindi ko na nakuha ‘yung rhythm ko. Missed shot lang,” he explained.

“Siguro this game, kung isisi sa akin, okay lang. Kaya kong i-blame sa sarili ko kasi hindi ko naman na-shoot ‘yung pampanalo. Sorry. Learning experience at sana ma-improve ko as a player ‘yung mga ganung moment sa darating pa.”

(It’s jut the proper mechanics of my shot. I lost my timing, I didn’t get my rhythm. Just a missed shot. For this game if they blame me, it’s okay. I can blame myself because I wasn’t able to hit the game-winner. Sorry. This is a learning experience and I hope I improve on this as a player in the future.)

However, Maliksi, who finished 6-of-16 from the field, remains undeterred despite the missed opportunity.

“Siyempre hindi naman tayo ‘yung tao na ‘I missed.’ Mas pangit naman kung you quit trying na, mas okay ‘yung you keep trying. At least, I tried,” the former University of Santo Tomas cager said.

“Kung na-shoot ko naman, nanalo kami, credit sa’kin. Kung hindi, sige okay lang, sasaluhin ko kung anuman.”

(I’m not the type of person who thinks that ‘I missed.’ It’s worse if you quit, it’s better to keep trying. At least, I tried. If I made it and we won, credit to me. But if not, then that’s okay, I’ll take responsibility for it.)

Victolero, for his part, wants nothing more from his players to learn from this type of close loss and grow as a team.

“It’s about being mentally tough in the end. I know they are veterans as individuals, but as a team we are young,” he pointed out. “We need these types of games to reach the next level.”

Star, which is now 3-4, next faces TNT on Sunday, January 15. – Rappler.com