Magnolia wrote another chapter of the Manila Clasico in its favor following a 118-88 romp of Barangay Ginebra to build its first winning streak in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup, Sunday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Antonio Hester starred in the rout witnessed by 11,212 fans live, falling just short of a rare triple-double with 28 points, 18 rebounds, and nine assists in yet another proof that he’s exactly what the Hotshots are looking for.
Ten of his points came in the second quarter, joining hands with Mark Barroca to lead a 36-point explosion for a 59-37 lead at the half that set the tone for the romp that led to the Kings’ first loss after a 3-0 start.
“I’m very proud of my players dahil down 0-3, back-to-back games, at least nakuha namin,” said head coach Chito Victolero. “And Hester is a big factor for us. He changed the pace, the tempo of our game, everything.
“That’s why without Ian [Sangalang], now we have at least a go-to guy in the post. It creates a lot of opportunities for our small guys,” he continued.
Barroca finished with a conference-high 21 points. Calvin Abueva flirted with a double-double with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Paul Lee also fired 18 markers as all but two of the 12 players fielded by Victolero scored at least three points in the win.
“We’re very unselfish as a team. It’s all about competing and in the pre-game sinabi ko lang sa mga bata na we need to enjoy the defensive battle. Kasi ‘yun lang eh, that’s the only chance against Ginebra,” the champion mentor said.
Justin Brownlee, meanwhile, led Ginebra with 22 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists in their worst loss since Game 1 of the 2019 Governors’ Cup semis, where they bowed to NorthPort 124-90 at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Scottie Thompson had 19 points while the returning Christian Standhardinger supplied 17 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists in the defeat.
It was the most lopsided Manila Clasico since the 2003 Invitationals’ qualifying round which, ironically, the Kings won, 112-78, on July 11 at the Big Dome, according to league stats chief Fidel Mangonon III.
The Scores:
Magnolia 118 – Hester 28, Barroca 21, Abueva 18, Lee 18, Dela Rosa 9, Wong 6, Jalalon 5, Dionisio 5, Escoto 5, Ahanmisi 3, Corpuz 0.
Ginebra 88 – Brownlee 22, Thompson 19, Standhardinger 17, Malonzo 12, Gray 8, Pinto 8, Mariano 2, Pessumal 0, R.Aguilar 0, Pringle 0, Tenorio 0.
Quarterscores: 23-18, 59-37, 87-71, 118-88
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
