NTIPOLO – Magnolia found its footing after the break and never looked back in the way to dealing Phoenix Super LPG a 107-92 beatdown to stay perfect in the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup, Sunday night at the Ynares Center here.
The Hotshots began to seize control of the match in the third after a 51-all tie at the half before breaking away in the final period on the way to creating a three-way logjam with Meralco and NorthPort atop the team standings.
“Yung tempo ng first half nasa kanila eh. We explained to them that we need to execute on both ends, settle down, ‘yun, nagsimula ‘yung magandang depensa, and ‘yung tempo napunta sa amin,” said head coach Chito Victolero.
Import Tyler Bey continued to impress as he led the way with 32 points and 16 rebounds, together with three steals in almost 38 minutes of action.
He scored 12 points in the third canto alone, including the dunk to cap off an 18-7 spurt toward the 68-57 lead with 6:27 on the clock. They eventually ended the period with an 80-70 edge as they remained ahead the rest of the way.
Paul Lee, Mark Barroca, and Jio Jalalon would take care of the rest in the fourth as the Hotshots stretched their lead to 97-75 with 7:10 left.
Jalalon led the locals with 20 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals, and a block. Barroca produced 15 points while Lee made 13.
“‘Yun naman ‘yung maganda rito e, ‘yung chemistry,” offered Jalalon. “Sana magtuloy-tuloy. Pero one game at a time lang. Malayo pa ‘yung liga.”
Magnolia will try to make it three straight against the 2-0 Batang Pier on Friday, November 17, 4 p.m. at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Johnathan Williams led Phoenix with 26 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists as they failed to keep their winning ways after beating NLEX last Friday.
JJay Alejandro made 15 points while the frontcourt troika of Ken Tuffin, Jason Perkins, and Javee Mocon all had 11 apiece in the defeat.
The Fuel Masters (1-1) will look to bounce back against the winless Rain or Shine (0-2) on Saturday, November 18, 6:15 p.m. still at Ynares-Antipolo.
The Scores:
Magnolia 107 – Bey 32, Jalalon 20, Barroca 15, Lee 13, Laput 6, Eriobu 5, Sangalang 4, Dela Rosa 4, Dionisio 2, Reavis 2, Corpuz 2, Tratter 2, Escoto 0, Murrell 0.
Phoenix Super LPG 92 – Williams 26, Alejandro 15, Tuffin 11, Perkins 11, Mocon 11, Manganti 5, Rivero 4, Jazul 3, Tio 4, Lalata 2, Camacho 0, Verano 0, Daves 0, Soyud 0, Muyang 0.
Quarterscores: 22-22, 51-51, 80-70, 107-92.
