Magnolia clinched the fifth seed entering the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals by snapping the three-game winning streak of Meralco through a 93-76 victory at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Sunday evening.
Paul Lee knocked one down each from the two arcs, and that personal run of his ignited a 16-0 run, turning a narrow gap to a wide 36-15 lead approaching the midway mark of the second chapter, putting them ahead for good.
They fell into a shaky third by giving up 35 and even allowed the Bolts to get as close as eight points, but Clint Chapman and Javi Gomez de Liano led the strong finish to put it away in a solid preparation for the playoffs.
“I challenged my team that this kind of game, ito ‘yung magbibigay sa amin ng chance to get into the next level–not necessarily going into the semis or what. We have a goal, and I think we are on the right track,” Coach LA Tenorio said.
(C) PBA Images
The Hotshots finished the eliminations with three consecutive wins and with a 7-5 win-loss record, and will now be monitoring the TNT- Barangay Ginebra result later in the night to determine their opponents in the Final Eight.
If the Kings win, Magnolia and Meralco will be squaring off once more in the playoffs’ opening round, with the latter armed with a twice-to-beat advantage.
But if the Tropang 5G win, then a Manila Clasico meeting shall be forged, with the crowd darlings coming in with the win-once incentive.
“Alam niyo, kahit sino talaga ang makalaban mo sa taas, I mean, they’re in the Top Four for a reason. Basta maging ready lang kami, katulad nga ng sinabi ni Paul [Lee], we’ll be ready kung sinuman ang makakalaban namin,” offered Tenorio.
“If it is Meralco, then we have to beat them three times, basically–nakaisa na kami,” he added. “If it is Ginebra, then we have to beat two times. Alam naman natin I came from Ginebra and mahirap kalaban, but we’ll be ready.”
Chapman led the Hotshots with 19 points and seven rebounds. Lee finished with a conference-high 13 points, while Gomez de Liano added 10 markers.
“Tinatakbo lang namin ‘yung dapat naming takbuhin,” said Lee. “Basta ready ka lang dapat sa mangyayari sa flow namin kasi hindi mo alam kung kailan ka ma-wa-wide open kasi read-and-react ‘yung ginagawa namin.”
(C) PBA Images
Javee Mocon, on the other hand, led Meralco with 14 points and five rebounds as he spearheaded their third-quarter charge by producing 10.
Marvin Jones also had 14 points with six rebounds, while CJ Cansino and Cliff Hodge added 10, although the latter wasn’t able to finish the game after incurring an F2 infraction off a hard foul on Mark Barroca early in the third canto.
Depending on the TNT-Ginebra match, the Bolts, who ended up with an 8-4 card, could finish as high as third or as low as fourth, as mentioned above.
The Scores:
Magnolia 93 – Chapman 19, Lee 13, Gomez de Liano 10, Sangalang 9, Lastimosa 8, Lucero 8, Barroca 8, Andrada 6, Verano 6, Dela Rosa 3, Alfaro 2, Gomez 1, Laput 0, Taha 0.
Meralco 76 – Jones 14, Mocon 14, Cansino 10, Hodge 10, Brickman 9, Quinto 8, Newsome 7, Black 2, Magbuhos 1, Bates 1, Banchero 0, Pascual 0.
Quarterscores: 18-14, 46-30, 74-65, 93-76.
