Magnolia gave Shabazz Muhammad a rude welcome in the PBA as it blew out San Miguel Beer, 104-87, to immediately bounce back in the 2021-22 Governors’ Cup, Sunday evening at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Paul Lee led the hostilities with 26 points, including 15 of his team’s 32 points in the second period where the Hotshots seized control of the match on the way to redeeming themselves from last Thursday’s sorry loss to NorthPort.
The 33-year-old gunner, who missed the potential game-winning trey against the Batang Pier, shot 9-of-16 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from deep. He also had five rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
“We just tried to bounce back hard for this game,” said head coach Chito Victolero, whose team remained on top of the standings with a 7-1 record. “It’s a character game for us.
“We know we had a bad start last game, although we finished strong, kinapos kami. Pero on this game, we talked about how we will start strong and we need to finish stronger. So ‘yun lang ‘yung pinag-usapan namin.”
Mike Harris had 26 points as well, together with 13 rebounds. The former Best Import was the one who pushed Magnolia’s lead to its biggest at 24, 91-67, following a jumper with 8:44 left in the final chapter.
Mark Barroca flirted with a triple-double as he finished with 12 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds. Aris Dionisio also made 12 points, while Jio Jalalon chimed in with 10 markers, seven boards, and five dimes.
“Alam ko ‘yung mental toughness ng mga batang ‘to e, matagal na kaming magkakasama,” Victolero said. “I know sa practice pa lang, alam ko na sila kung papano sila maglalaro sa game, and they’re ready.
“And I’m very proud of my players because we talked about bounce back, we talked about the last game, we talked about the proper mindset, the playoff mentality. So ‘yan ‘yung pinakita nila,” he added.
Magnolia will next face the second-running Meralco (6-2) on Wednesday, 6:00 p.m., at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Muhammad, meanwhile, finished with 27 points and 17 rebounds to lead San Miguel. The third import to play for the Beermen this conference, the NBA vet shot 11-of-38 from the floor and committed eight turnovers.
CJ Perez had 18 points and eight rebounds. Vic Manuel made 16 points, while Marcio Lassiter added 11 for SMB, who dropped to 5-4 and is currently tied with defending champs Ginebra at fifth in the team standings.
San Miguel will look to get back on track the soonest when it takes on Rain or Shine (3-6) on Thursday, March 3, 6:00 p.m., also at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
Magnolia 104 – Lee 26, Harris 26, Barroca 12, Dionisio 12, Jalalon 10, Sangalang 9, Corpuz 4, Wong 3, Reavis 2, Escoto 0, Ahanmisi 0.
San Miguel 87 – Muhammad 27, Perez 18, Manuel 16, Lassiter 11, Fajardo 6, Tautuaa 5, Romeo 4, Ross 0, Enciso 0, Brondial 0
Quarterscores: 25-23, 57-44, 81-62, 104-87
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