By REYNALD MAGALLON
Magnolia gave Converge a quick reality check with a 105-93 victory to notch its first win in the Group A of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Aug. 23.
The Hotshots bared their defensive fangs and put the clamps down on the FiberXers who after exploding for127 points in the first game, failed to hit the century mark with their usual top guns in Justin Arana and Alec Stockton limited way below their averages.
Taking advantage of it was Magnolia which established a lead that went to as high as 21 points, before pulling off consecutive stops in the end game to foil a last ditch comeback from Converge and fuel own 7-0 finishing kick.
Glenn Robinson III took care of the offense for Magnolia with 28 points while Paul Lee finished added 14 points and seven assists.
Ian Sangalang added 14 while Jerrick Ahanmisi, emerging as a designated four-point shooter for the Hotshots, fired 14 points spiked by three four-point conversions, including a pair he buried in succession in the opening frame.
The Hotshot looked to be easily cruising to victory when it erected an 89-68 lead but the FiberXers, behind the hot hands of Kevin Racal, came alive and unloaded a blistering 25-9 run to suddenly come within five, 98-93, inside the last two minutes.
Magnolia came to its senses just in time and tightened their defensive screws anew, translating into a five-point swing with Sangalang and Mark Barroca hitting the big shots.
A short stab from Robinson III then iced the game as Magnolia, forced a four-way tie at 1-1 in the Group A standings along with Meralco, Converge and NorthPort. TNT seized the early lead with a 2-0 slate while Terrafirma was the lone winless team at 0-2.
Scotty Hopson followed up his 46-point debut with 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists but obviously lacked support from the rest of the team. Racal tried to supply the offensive firepower with his 17 points – nine he unloaded in the payoff period but was not enough to make up for the struggle of Arana and Stockton.
Arana only had 10 points and five rebounds while committing five turnovers while Stockton was limited to just three points while being saddled by foul trouble all-game long.
