By Jonas Terrado
Paul Lee owned up to his two miscues in the final minute that led to the Magnolia Hotshots’ downfall in Game 3 of their semis series with the Ginebra Kings on Wednesday.
Lee had two chances to give the Hotshots a victory and a sweep of the best-of-five series but threw a bad pass with the game tied at 103-all before firing a long contested three with the Kings clinging to a 105-103 lead as time was winding down.
“For me, parang kami ang tumalo sa sarili namin,” Lee lamented after the game ended with the final score of 107-103 in Ginebra’s favor.
Magnolia was almost assured of advancing to the finals when it led by 18 points in the second quarter until Ginebra got right back in the contest.
The Hotshots did make their own run after coach Chito Victolero’s ejection, taking the lead on Romeo Travis’ acrobatic shot for 103-101 until things went downhill for them.
Scottie Thompson’s follow-up tied the score, then Lee committed a turnover when his pass sailed over Mark Barroca with 33.1 seconds left.
Lee had a chance to redeem himself after Ginebra got the lead back on LA Tenorio’s running shot but fired a 25-foot attempt that failed to hit the rim.
