by Jonas Terrado
Game Today (Mall of Asia Arena)
7 p.m. – Meralco vs Alaska
(Meralco leads series 1-0)
Magnolia survived a gallant stand by Barangay Ginebra San Miguel down the stretch to escape with a 101-97 victory and a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-five PBA Governors’ Cup semifinal series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Romeo Travis made up for missing three consecutive free throws by knocking down his fourth attempt with 1.8 seconds left that sealed the Hotshots’ victory after the Kings, with coach Tim Cone in the locker room after being ejected early in the fourth, threatened after being down 12 with less than four minutes remaining.
Travis screamed as loud as he could after making the important foul shot as Magnolia moved on the cusp of advancing to the finals for the second time in three conferences. The Hotshots go for a sweep tomorrow night at the same venue.
Coach Chito Victolero, however, warned that the series is far from over, giving Magnolia’s recent history with Ginebra.
The Hotshots squandered a similar 2-0 lead in the 2017 Philippine Cup semifinals before losing in seven games to Ginebra.
“That is our inspiration heading into this series,” said Victolero. “We experienced that before and now we will try our best to get that third win.”
Travis had 25 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and three steals, Ian Sangalang produced 17 points and Paul Lee added 14 for the Hotshots.
One of Magnolia’s unsung heroes was Rome dela Rosa, who not only scored 11 points but made Ginebra import Justin Brownlee work most of his game-high 31 points.
Magnolia appeared headed toward victory when it led 95-83 in the fourth. But Brownlee scored eight and Sol Mercado and LA Tenorio hit back-to-back triples, putting Ginebra within two, 99-97.
Lee split his two charities, less than 18 ticks left, giving the Kings another opportunity. Tenorio and Brownlee, though, muffed their rainbow shots before Ginebra forced to foul Travis with about three seconds left.
Travis somewhat mimicked the same struggles of former high school teammate LeBron James at the foul line in his NBA game earlier in the day by missing two foul shots. But like James, Travis got a chance by grabbing his own miss before getting another chance at the stripe.
After missing the first attempt, Travis sank the second to seal the final count.
Cone was tossed by referee Janine Nicandro for two technical fouls with 9:18 left in the fourth.
