Magnolia turned on the jets in the second quarter and sent NorthPort crashing back to earth, 129-109, to find immediate redemption in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup, Thursday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Game was tied at 31-all after the first 12 minutes but the Hotshots found their groove in the ensuing quarter, exploding for 42 big points while limiting their foes to just 16 for a commanding 73-47 lead entering the break.
They would never look back since the crew eventually bounced back from the loss to Meralco the last time out and, more importantly, clinched a spot to the quarterfinals — helping the Bolts and Ginebra do so as well with their win.
“At the start, we were so frustrated with our shots, the body language was not there. Masyado kaming nafu-frustrate sa mga shot namin na hindi pumapasok. Our defense, naapektuhan na rin,” said head coach Chito Victolero.
“Good thing, naka-recover kami. We played good basketball after that, we shared the ball, we sacrificed, and we gave the effort that we wanted,” he added. “It’s all about the execution and discipline on defense.”
Antonio Hester led the way with 28 points and 14 rebounds, scoring 24 just in the first half to lead their second-quarter eruption.
Mark Barroca, who now has the longest active streak of consecutive games played after Ginebra’s LA Tenorio went down with an injury, supplied 21 points and a game-high eight assists off the bench.
Rome Dela Rosa provided 19 points and six boards, Calvin Abueva notched his own double-double of 18 and 11 alongside five dimes, while Paul Lee and young big man Aris Dionisio added 16 and 15 markers, respectively.
“It starts with effort as always with this team,” said Dela Rosa. “Everyone can contribute, and everyone’s going to do their part every game. Credit to the guys, credit to the coaches as well. Everyone was ready tonight.”
Magnolia (5-4) will now brace for its last two games of the eliminations against Terrafirma on Saturday and then Blackwater on March 8.
Kevin Murphy and Robert Bolick, meanwhile, captained NorthPort with 31 and 30, respectively, in the loss that snapped their two-game winning streak.
The Batang Pier fell to 2-7 following the defeat, and will have to sweep their last two matches versus Rain or Shine (2-7) and current leaders TNT (8-1) if they are to keep their flickering playoff aspirations alive.
The Scores:
Magnolia 129 – Hester 28, Barroca 21, Dela Rosa 19, Abueva 18, Lee 16, Dionisio 15, Escoto 7, Jalalon 3, Mendoza 2, Reavis 0, Ahanmisi 0, Wong 0, Zaldivar 0, Corpuz 0.
NorthPort 109 – Murphy 31, Bolick 30, Munzon 11, Calma 9, Chan 8, Taha 6, Tolentino 4, Salado 4, Zamar 3, Sumang 2, Santos 0, Caperal 0, Balagasay 0.
Quarterscores: 31-31, 73-47, 98-84, 129-109
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
