Calvin Abueva bucked foul trouble as he sparked Magnolia’s come-from-behind win over Meralco, 88-79, to take Game One of their 2021 Honda PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven series, Sunday at the DHVSU Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
Already with five fouls in the first three quarters, the ‘Beast’ made head coach Chito Victolero’s gamble worth it when he was inserted back on the floor early in the fourth quarter, when the Hotshots were staring at a 63-69 deficit.
He first split his freebies and then hit a three-pointer, making the first four points of a 10-0 run that put his side ahead, 73-69, with 5:18 remaining.
Though Cliff Hodge and Bong Quinto tried to keep the Bolts afloat, Magnolia could no longer be stopped as Mark Barroca, Paul Lee, and Abueva connived to push their lead to 82-72 with 2:46 left as they went on to take the W.
Abueva finished with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor, to go along with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block.
“It’s hard for us because ‘yung rotation ko, medyo naapektuhan because na-foul trouble nga si Calvin,” said head coach Chito Victolero. “But the way Calvin tumingin sa akin nung fourth quarter, gustong gusto niya maglaro eh.
“Sabi ko, ‘Bahala na.’ Basta ingatan lang niya. At least malaking tulong, nakakuha siya ng mga rebounds, nakakuha kami ng energy sa kanya sa opensa tsaka sa depensa. Iba rin talaga kapag andoon si Calvin.”
Top big man Ian Sangalang led Magnolia with 18 points and eight rebounds. Lee finished with 17 points, while fellow guards Jio Jalalon and Barroca contributed 12 and 11 markers, respectively.
The Hotshots have also avenged their elimination round loss to the Bolts last September 1 that saw them blow a 13-point lead in the final two minutes.
“We learned a lot from our game last time, yung eliminations,” Victolero said. “We only played for 46 minutes. Dito, kung makikita ninyo, even if we were up by 12 we kept on pressuring the ball because we know they can come back.
“‘Yun lang ang gusto namin. We want to finish the game kumbaga talagang hard,” the champion mentor added. “Thankful ako sa mga players ko because they played for 48 minutes, they focused for 48 minutes.”
But while they kept their focus, emotions still ran high in the game. Victolero himself got into a spat with Raymond Almazan with 1:48 left, while Allein Maliksi was seen talking to someone over at Magnolia after the game.
Victolero said that he and Almazan have already patched things up, adding that such instances are only part of the game’s competitive nature.
“Regarding the emotions, sasabihin naman natin na talagang emotional yung game because it’s a series and it’s the semifinals. Kailangan lang namin ma-control yung emotions namin, even me,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bong Quinto had 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead Meralco, who actually fell behind by 14 early before taking the lead in the third canto.
Semis first-timer Mac Belo and guard Anjo Caram each made 11 points, while Reynel Hugnatan added 10 markers and six boards in the loss.
The Scores:
Magnolia 88 – Sangalang 18, Lee 17, Abueva 13, Jalalon 12, Barroca 11, Reavis 9, Dela Rosa 6, Dionisio 2, Corpuz 0, Ahanmisi 0, Pascual 0.
Meralco 79 – Quinto 14, Belo 11, Caram 11, Hugnatan 10, Almazan 9, Newsome 8, Hodge 7, Pinto 6, Maliksi 3, Pasaol 0.
Quarterscores: 22-17, 47-40, 61-64, 88-79.
