Magnolia did not have its star duo but that hardly mattered as it handed Phoenix Super LPG a harsh 95-77 beatdown to register its first back-to-back wins in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup, Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The Hotshots missed the services of Calvin Abueva (one-game suspension) and Paul Lee (injury) but the remaining Hotshots did more than enough as they led from start to finish on the way to their third win in six outings.
Chito Victolero’s wards opened the game with 11 unanswered points, and that proved to be a preview of what’s to come in the game that saw them lead by as many as 27 points. 54-27, early in the third quarter.
“Next man up. ‘Yun talaga ang mentality namin ngayon,” said the champion mentor as his team also didn’t have Jerrick Ahanmisi. “Because we don’t want excuses. We don’t want na maging excuses ang injuries.”
Mark Barroca led the way with 21 points, 13 of which he made in the first half. He also had five rebounds, six assists, and five steals.
Aris Dionisio fired a career-high 19 points and seven rebounds. Jio Jalalon flirted with a triple-double as he finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, while Ian Sangalang made 14 and 10.
Jackson Corpuz supplied a conference-high 14 points and five rebounds as a total of five Hotshots scored in double figures in the win.
“We talked about the middle of the tournament — now, we’re in the middle of the tournament. And it’s time to level up our game,” Victolero said.
Magnolia will head into a week-long break before taking on NLEX on Saturday, July 2, Saturday, 7:15 p.m. at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Meanwhile, Javee Mocon played his best game in a Phoenix uniform with 19 points and six rebounds in the loss that snapped their two-game streak.
Now toting a 2-3 record, the Fuel Masters will try to bounce back quickly against the streaking TNT (4-2) on Sunday, 4:30 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Scores:
Magnolia 95 – Barroca 21, Dionisio 19, Jalalon 15, Sangalang 14, Corpuz 14, Wong 5, Brill 3, Reavis 2, Escoto 2, Laput 0, Dela Rosa 0.
Phoenix Super LPG 77 – Mocon 19, Manganti 11, Wright 9, Jazul 8, Anthony 6, Melecio 5, Perkins 5, Serrano 4,Muyang 4, Rios 3, Tio 3, Porter 0, Garcia 0.
Quarterscores: 24-11, 44-27, 63-43, 95-77
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