Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero sees Aris Dionisio playing a bigger role come playoffs time.
Dionisio had a career night last Friday sinking a franchise-record nine triples as the Hotshots claimed the last quarterfinals seat in Group A of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup.
Victolero expects more of the same from Dionisio as Magnolia’s designated sniper in the next round.
“Aris will be a big factor and will play a big role for us (in the playoffs),” the mentor said.
“Although sometimes because of the presence of an import we have to cut some of his minutes. But he’s always ready. What I like about him is he’s very coachable. He’s always elevating his game.”
The 29-year-old small forward seized the moment to display his deadly outside shooting when he rained down threes in the Hotshots’ 110-94 win over NorthPort at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium to complete the quarters cast in the group.
Dionisio dropped a career-high 30 points on a 10-of-13 field goal clip including a 9-of-11 shooting from the trifecta for Magnolia, which gave import Shabazz Muhammad a day off to rest his injured knee.
His 82 percent shooting from the three-point area tied the all-time highest percentage of a player with at least nine triples made in a game. Don Trollano was the other player to do so last year while still playing for NLEX.
But Dionisio doesn’t care about records. He just did what was needed of him.
“I’m not really thinking about those achievements. I just want to help the team every game and improve on the things that I lack,” the ninth overall pick by Magnolia in the 2019 Draft said.
For Dionisio reaching the career milestone is a result of his extra work in training.
“I go to practice early and work on my shooting. If I still can, after practice, I still do extra shooting sessions. I guess this is the fruit of my extra shooting practices,” he said.
Victolero is not surprised with Dionisio’s breakout game at all.