The San Miguel and Purefoods franchises, the most successful organizations in the PBA with a combined 39 titles, are no strangers to battling in a championship series.
They also have large and rabid fan bases. A rivalry that heated up in the late 1980s and early 1990s dictated one chose either San Miguel or Purefoods. Rare was the person to root for both. Chito Victolero was one such fan.
Victolero as a teen always monitored San Miguel and Purefoods because he admired the playing styles of Alvin Patrimonio and Ato Agustin. Decades later, Victolero is a pivotal figure as the storied franchises face off in the finals for the eighth time since 1998. He has a chance to achieve something he once only dreamt of.
"I was a big fan of that rivalry when I was in high school. Before I was just cheering for both these teams, now I'm a part of it," Victolero said . "I'm really delighted, even my father is happy because he knows how much I followed these two teams back when I was young."
Victolero was also fortunate to play in the league he watched for so many years. He didn't wind up with San Miguel or Purefoods, instead spending a few years as a role player with the Sta. Lucia franchise and then a one conference-stint with the FedEx Express. He never won a title in his short PBA career.
He tried his hand at coaching, first with the coaching staff of the San Beda Red Lions 2006 champion team before moving on as an assistant coach of Koy Banal in the Philippine Basketball League in 2009. That same year he reconnected with his alma mater, Mapua, which hired him as the Cardinals head coach where he manned the sidelines for three years.
After a two-year hiatus, he took on another assistant coaching job with the Kia franchise in 2014. Manny Pacquiao was officially listed as head coach of Kia at the time but Victolero handled most of the coaching duties and called the shots during his time there.
But even his stay with Kia didn't last long. This made Victolero, who badly wanted to be in a situation where he could have the opportunity to succeed, rethink his future. Lucky for him, a door opened.
"At first I didn't think I would become the head coach of the Purefoods franchise," admits Victolero. "But of course one of my dreams or goals in my career is to handle one of the elite teams in the PBA and have a chance to win a championship. I'm very thankful to God he gave me a chance."
When Tim Cone left in 2015, the Purefoods franchise languished. Under Jason Webb, Star failed to meet expectations which led to Victolero's hiring in October 2016.
Coming from an unsuccessful stint with Kia, Victolero was focused to bring Star back to the top, especially because he was presented a rare chance to lead one of the teams he rooted for in his youth.
His biggest challenge was finding a way to mix a veteran team with a new generation of stars and reach both.
"Before I took over the Purefoods franchise, I was already thinking how I could make the veterans teach the likes of Jio Jalalon and the other young guys, and how we can build chemistry between the veterans and the new players," Victolero said. "The transition [to Star] was very easy because the players are very committed. At the same time, they communicate with me regarding what I want them to do. The veterans also made it very easy."
With Victolero at the helm and with his players buying into his system, Star became one of the strongest teams in the PBA again. In his first full season as head coach, the Hotshots made the semifinals in each of the three conferences. Yet the pressure of capturing another championship remained.
"There's always pressure. When I played in the amateur and in the PBA, there was pressure. When I coached at Mapua and Kia there was pressure," Victolero said. "You just need to be confident with what you're doing and trying to achieve. At the start of the conference, when we changed our name to Magnolia, the challenge for us was to make the finals. Now we're here and the players worked hard for it."
After a solid showing in the elimination round, Magnolia entered the quarterfinals with a twice-to-beat advantage where they got past GlobalPort before eliminating NLEX in the semifinals in six games. Victolero says the experience the team gained as a group last season is the reason why the franchise is back in the finals after four years.
"We built our chemistry, that was one of our main goals -- to improve our chemistry. That's what we lacked last season. We kept making the semis be couldn't get over the hump because we were still lacking in chemistry," he said. "But now we're ready."
However, he and his team face a daunting task as they try to prevent the San Miguel Beermen from making history.
"I think we need a solid, almost perfect game to beat the defending champion because they have championship experience and they have great chemistry as well," he says. "(But) with all our hearts, with our chemistry and with our preparation, I think we can give San Miguel a good series."
Whether or not they beat the defending champs, Victolero is optimistic his players will come out this series as better individuals, which in turn will help them transform into a better team for years to come.