Magnolia handed NorthPort a harsh reality check, 112-74, to take solo lead in the PBA Governors’ Cup, Friday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Seen to be a dogfight as it pitted two unbeaten squads, the Hotshots wasted no time proving otherwise as they jumped to a 28-8 lead in the first 12 minutes, and would hardly face any resistance en route to their third win in as many games.
That leaves them one of the only two undefeated teams in the conference thus far, the other being Meralco who totes a 2-0 record.
“Credit to the players. I’m very proud. They’re so focused. They have the mindset na we need to play for 48 minutes against this team, because we know this is (going to be) a hard game for us,” said head coach Chito Victolero.
Five players finished in double figures in the rout, with import Tyler Bey leading the pack with his 23 points alongside eight rebounds and six assists. The 25-year-old also did it on the other end with a steal and two blocks.
Mark Barroca produced 17 points. Paul Lee made 16 points, spiked by four triples, on top of five rebounds and six assists as the two came off the bench.
Jio Jalalon supplied 11 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Ian Sangalang added 11 as well with six boards in the win that saw a total of 11 players contribute at least two points for the still-perfect Magnolia.
The win is surely a huge confidence booster heading into their Manila Clasico showdown with Ginebra on Sunday, 6:15 p.m. at the Big Dome.
“The Clasico is the Clasico. We expect a very hard game on Sunday, and we expect a big crowd,” offered Victolero.
Arvin Tolentino, on the other hand, finished with 22 points and seven rebounds to lead NorthPort, who dropped to 2-1 following the beatdown.
Import Venky Jois was far from the form he displayed in his first two outings as he only mustered 16 points and eight rebounds. The Australian forward went into the game averaging 36.5 points and 15.5 rebounds,
The Batang Pier will look to rebound against Thomas Robinson and NLEX (1-1) on November 22, Wednesday, 8 p.m. also at Araneta.
The Scores:
Magnolia 112 – Bey 25, Barroca 17, Lee 16, Sangalang 11, Jalalon 11, Laput 8, Escoto 5, Reavis 4, Corpuz 4, Dela Rosa 4, Corpuz 4, Dionisio 3, Eriobu 2, Tratter 2, Murrell 0, Ahanmisi 0.
NorthPort 74 – Tolentino 22, Jois 16, Salado 8, Chan 6, Zamar 4, Flores 4, Caperal 3,Amores 2, Ayaay 2, Munzon 2, Paraiso 2, Taha 2, Yu 1, Balagasay 0.
Quarterscores: 28-8, 56-30, 82-48, 112-74.
