Magnolia Hotshots’ Ian Sangalang in the PBA Philippine Cup. –PBA IMAGES
Magnolia played steely nerves down the stretch on Friday night to turn back Terrafirma, 108-100, and clinch a spot in the next round of the PBA Philippine Cup.
The Hotshots’ old reliables came through in the final four minutes of the contest at PhilSports Arena in Pasig City to wiggle themselves out of two-game slide and improve a 6-4 win-loss mark in the race.
“We’re a veteran team and we have a bunch of guys who are experienced. But it just so happened that we had a bad (play) in our last game. So we just tried to go back into practice, move forward,” said head coach Chito Victolero whose charges could close out the elimination round as the No. 3 seed at best.
READ: PBA: Barroca stays positive despite Magnolia’s 51-point outing in loss
20-year veteran and team skipper Rafi Reaves had 10 points and 13 rebounds–his first big performance in a long while–to backstop Magnolia’s core.
Ian Sangalang finished with 23 points, Mark Barroca 21, Paul Lee 17, and the returning Jio Jalalon chipped in seven more.
“We just thought we still controlled our destiny (in the conference), so we just needed to bounce back hard, play hard, and have a different kind of mentality,” said Victolero. “It showed today. The players knew how important this game was for us.”
READ: PBA: As Ian Sangalang rediscovers form, Magnolia looks to continue roll
Terrafrima got the goods from top rookie pick Stephen Holt, who delivered a season-best 32 points. Juami Tiongson, Isaac Go and Javi Gomez de Liano all chipped in at least 13 points for the perennial doormat, who came oh-so-close at tabbing a rare quarters berth.
Johnedel Cardel and his crew, who dropped to 5-6, will now have to rely on a series of events to advance–the first of which will be in the NLEX-Rain or Shine match which will be played at the same venue later tonight.
Magnolia, meanwhile, battles TNT this Sunday in a match that will have heavy implications on the Tropang Giga, a traditional powerhouse struggling to gain footing in the frantic footrace for the quarterfinals.
PBA Scores:
MAGNOLIA 108 – Sangalang 23, Barroca 21, Lee 17, Reavis 10, Eriobu 8, Balanza 8, Jalalon 7, Dela Rosa 5, Dionisio 5, Tratter 4
TERRAFIRMA 100 – Holt 32, Tiongson 14, Go 13, Gomez de Liano 13, Cahilig 9, Alolino 7, Carino 7, Sangalang 4, Ramos 1, Calvo 0, Camson 0
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Quarterscores: 28-16, 50-44, 80-71, 108-100.