Magnolia extinguished one of the hottest streaks in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup following a 108-102 win over Rain or Shine in a tight out-of-town offering at the Tiaong Convention Center in Quezon, Saturday night.
Mark Barroca’s fallaway jumper with 33.5 seconds left plus free throws from Paul Lee and Jed Mendoza were all enough for the Hotshots to escape after the Elasto Painters fought back from as many as 15 points down.
Coach Chito Victolero’s wards have now won their fourth straight by ending their foes’ winning run at five, delaying as well a virtual entry into the quarterfinals.
The victory also broke the out-of-town curse for the squad after losing both of their provincial matches against, coincidentally, RoS and Meralco in Cagayan de Oro and Iloilo, respectively, in the Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup.
Ian Sangalang top-scored for Magnolia with 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field and 12 rebounds in the victory that hiked their win-loss card to 5-2, moving one win away from claiming a seat in the first round of the playoffs.
Barroca finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists. Aris Dionisio supplied 12 points and six rebounds, although he was not able to finish the game after being fouled out still with 1:01 left to play.
Mendoza went 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and made 12 points, while Lee and Joseph Eriobu finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
It was Lee who sparked the 11-2 run that broke the 82-all deadlock and gave themselves the 95-84 advantage with 6:36 to go, a run in which Barroca and Eriobu helped put together to take the lead for good.
But it was never a smooth-sailing ride for Magnolia, with Coach Yeng Guiao’s wards chopping the lead to as close as four points, 96-92, with 4:25 to go.
Sangalang, though, was there to provide a quick response, and it didn’t help Rain or Shine’s cause that Beau Belga and Santi Santillan missed crucial free throws that could have trimmed the deficit further.
In a total of four trips, the two big men went just 2-of-8 from the charity stripe, with those two shots courtesy of Santillan to make it 101-96 with 1:56 left.
The Elasto Painters still managed to get to within four again, 106-102, behind an Adrian Nocum lay-up off a Belga assist with 11.6 seconds left but Mendoza’s perfect trip to the foul line shortly after all but sealed it for Magnolia.
Nocum top-scored for Rain or Shine with 19 points in the loss that dropped their card to 5-5. Santillan had 17 points, while Belga put up all-around numbers once more with 16 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and a steal.
The Scores:
Magnolia 108 – Sangalang 25, Barroca 18, Dionisio 13, Mendoza 12, Lee 11, Eriobu 10, Abueva 8, Balanza 5, Tratter 4, Jalalon 2, Reavis 0, Escoto 0, Laput 0.
Rain or Shine 102 – Nocum 19, Santillan 17, Belga 16, Mamuyac 13, Caracut 12, Aistio 9, Borboran 6, Clarito 4, Demusis 3, Belo 2, Ildefonso 0.
Quarterscores: 16-21, 54-43, 78-74, 108-102.
