MANILA, Philippines -- Magnolia Hotshots import Ricardo Ratliffe voiced excitement to participate in his first “Manila Clasico” rivalry game against Barangay Ginebra on Christmas Day.
Ratliffe is expected to not just share good tidings on Christmas Day, but also dominance, as he and his squad battle the Gin Kings.
On Friday, the hulking 35-year-old powered the Hotshots’ 99-95 win over the NLEX Road Warriors in a must-win contest.
He finished with 38 points, 19 rebounds and an assist.
And on Christmas, he will be figuring in a colossal collision course against Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee.
Ratliffe, on Friday, said he is pumped to finally play in his first Manila Clasico.
“I’m looking forward to it. I know it’s the biggest rivalry in this league,” he told reporters.
The American-born South Korean earlier had two calls of duty for the then-Star Hotshots, but he came in both times as a substitute reinforcement.
“I didn’t get a chance to play my first two times because I came as a replacement. I usually come around right before the playoffs because of my season in Korea,” he added.
“But I'm definitely looking forward to Christmas and playing in my first rivalry game.”
Magnolia’s win against NLEX came at a very crucial time, as the squad finally arrested a four-game losing streak and rose to 2-4.
For his part, Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero said that this early, the team is already at a do-or-die situation with six elimination games to go.
“Yeah, I mean, we are in a situation, a do-or-die situation. Our backs are against the wall. Actually, we had a playoff mindset early on. I told the players, sorry, but this is a playoff mindset,” he said.
“We have to have a playoff mentality. And they understand that because one loss, I think we're near to the exit. So we need to have that sense of urgency to play better, to go to the next level of competition, which is, I think, what we did today,” he added.
“And I'm thankful to the players for the challenge. Na-absorb nila ang pressure.”
Ginebra, on the other hand, is coming off a loss on Saturday.
The Gin Kings crumbled and lost against the Converge FiberXers, 98-91.