PLAYERS coming off the bench can give support to the key players of the team.
Coach Chito Victolero took comfort in this after his Magnolia Timplados Hotshots rolled to their first win at the start of the 48th Philippine Basketball Association Governor’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Victolero believes that it was because of their stint in the PBA On Tour, that the coaching staff was able to gain the confidence to trust their reserve players to step up and contribute to the team.
“The PBA On Tour gave us the confidence with the other guys on the bench. And it’s a big help to us that they can deliver,” said Victolero, who talked about the performance of the team’s reserve players following a 110-102 beating of the TNT Tropang Giga on Sunday.
While new import Tyler Bey sizzled with a double-double of 31 points and 21 rebounds, bench players, led by Aries Dionisio, Jerick Ahanmisi, James Laput and Abu Tratter, helped the Hotshots win with their combined 41-point output.
The 6’7” Bey took time to get his game going, taking charge in the final period, and he got a busted lip from teammate James Laput’s elbow while he was busy unloading 15 points in the last period.
The 25-year old Bey, who played for the Irona Ness Ziona in the Israeli Premier Basketball League last year, gave the Hotshots a 15-point, 96-81 lead in the final 7:35 of the fourth with his layup.
Andy Barroca knocked in 15 points for the Hotshots, firing nine of it in the first period as Hotshots moved away with a 26-16 first quarter advantage.
Paul Lee made 13 points for the Hotshots, as he unloaded eight in the second quarter to push them to a 56-49 halftime spread.
Lee’s two charities with a second left in the third allowed the Hotshots to have a nine-point edge, 81-73, before the start of the fourth.
Dionisio strung up nine points in the second and third periods as the Hotshots built a 12-point lead, 83-71, going into the fourth period.
