Hong Kong missed out on a chance to bolster its bid for a twice-to-beat advantage in the first round of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup playoffs after taking a 107-78 thrashing at the hands of desperate Magnolia last Sunday.

The loss definitely stung, but skipper Glen Yang said that Eastern will just have to chalk it up to experience.

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“We just take it on the chin,” he told reporters on the heels of the defeat at Ynares Center in Antipolo City that pushed the guest side to a 7-4 record. “[It’s] a learning lesson. Magnolia played a tough game. They’re more physical and they [Hotshots] looked like they wanted it more than us.”

“We came out flat and it just kind of snowballed the whole game. We just couldn’t get a flow—honestly—offensively or defensively,” he went on.

As disappointing as that botched job may have been, a window remains open for the visitors as they battle NLEX—another crew looking to make the quarterfinals—in a critical double-header at Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.

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A win over the Road Warriors will keep Hong Kong—albeit narrowly—in the race for a No. 2 finish. But a bevy of conditions also needs to happen for that to be even possible, among them Meralco losing to old rival Barangay Ginebra later that night, and again at the hands of Magnolia on Jan. 31.

Eastern can only then sweep in and capture the second seed if those scenarios turn into reality and TNT also bows to Rain or Shine on Jan. 31.

“We’re still confident. We’re very confident,” a defiant Yang said, but not without pointing out that his crew is focused solely on the task at hand—something that the Road Warriors are also doing ahead of the clash set at 5 p.m.

“The other teams are already fighting for [playoff positioning],” NLEX coach Jong Uichico said. “For us, we’re still on ‘we have to make it first’ thinking.’”

Hong Kong, actually, can shake up the conference by allowing NLEX to pull through, as doing so would send San Miguel, a perennial title contender and the tournament’s defending champion, packing early. That would mean one less significant obstacle for Eastern’s quest for the title.

But that’s also going to open up a path for other clubs which are just as capable such as Philippine Cup titlist Meralco and Barangay Ginebra.

The Gin Kings are set to play in a best-of-three series in the next round, and coach Tim Cone could very well use the final game of his elimination round schedule as a means to generate momentum going into that perilous knockout round. INQ