Paul Lee came through miraculously in the nick of time as Magnolia frustrated Ginebra, 96-95, to equalize their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series at one game apiece, Friday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The star guard almost turned the ball over after his pass intended to Calvin Abueva got deflected by the defense, but was able to secure it again for the game-winning leaner off the glass to beat the final buzzer.
Swarmed by his Hotshots teammates right after that big shot, Lee finished with a team-high 24 points on an efficient 9-of-13 shooting from the floor.
“Medyo tulala lang ako. I know it’s the play for Paul, but buti bumagsak sa kanya uli ‘yung bola,” said head coach Chito Victolero postgame.
“It was God’s will. It was God’s hands. I know Paul is our lethal weapon also, but with the help of our Lord, I think binigay Niya sa’min ‘yon,” he added. “And deserve naman ng mga bata kasi we work hard, we prepare hard.”
Nick Rakocevic turned in another big game with 23 points and 20 rebounds as he bounced back from the premature exit in Game One last Wednesday.
Jio Jalalon had 15 points, three rebounds, and five assists, while Calvin Abueva added 10 markers and five boards as the two came off the bench.
The loss, meanwhile, wasted the redemption outing of Justin Brownlee, who led Ginebra with 34 points and 16 rebounds after scoring just 11 in Game One.
Down the drain as well were the 17 points of Stanley Pringle, who was actually set to become the star of Game Two with his side-step triple from the corner to give the Kings the 95-94 lead with 5.1 seconds remaining.
That trey of his was the silencer to Mark Barroca’s four straight points, only to see his thunder get stolen by Lee with the buzzer-beater.
“Nag-concentrate lang ako sa tira ko,” said Lee. “Thank God, enough ‘yung time para maitira ko ‘yung bola ng mas maayos.”
Game Three is on Sunday, 6:45 p.m., in the same venue, with the ongoing chapter of the Clasico semis now reduced to a virtual best-of-three.
The Scores:
Magnolia 96 – Lee 24, Rakocevic 23, Jalalon 15, Abueva 10, Barroca 8, Sangalang 6, Ahanmisi 5, Dionisio 3, Dela Rosa 2, Corpuz 0, Wong 0.
Ginebra 95 – Brownlee 34, Pringle 17, Thompson 12, Tenorio 8, Malonzo 7, J.Aguilar 6, Standhardinger 6, Mariano 5, Pessumal 0, Gray 0.
Quarterscores: 27-32, 51-50, 73-78, 96-95.
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
