By REYNALD MAGALLON
Jerrick Ahanmisi displayed superb outside sniping and fired four quadruples as Magnolia vented its ire on the luckless Terrafirma, 124-103, to get back into the win column in Group A of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 1.
The 26-year-old sniper quickly found his range from beyond the 27-foot arc, setting the tone for the blistering first half that tore the game apart against the luckless Dyip, who also missed the services of star guard Juami Tiongson and defensive big man Kemark Carino due to injuries.
Ahanmisi went 4-of-8 from the extended arc – the most conversion by anyone to date since the adoption of the four-point line – to finish with 24 points as Magnolia improved to a 2-2 record while keeping Terrafirma winless through four games.
Import Glenn Robinson, after being limited last time out, returned to his usual scoring ways with a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds while sophomore Zav Lucero finished with 15 points.
Three other players scored in double figures in the Hotshots’ rare offensive showing that saw them fire a total of nine triples and six quadruples. Ian Sangalang had 14 points, Paul Lee scored 13 and Joseph Eriobu posted 12.
Ahanmisi fired half of Magnolia’s four-pointers in the first half as the Hotshots established a commanding 63-32 lead at the break – the biggest advantage by any team since Phoenix also led the Dyip 67-30 after 24 mins in a 135-84 rout in the 2022-23 Commissioner’s Cup.
The Dyip did finally find their rhythm in the second half with 32 points in the third and 39 in the fourth but were not enough as the lead, which went to as high as 38, 60-22, proved to be too much for Terrafirma to overcome.
Stanley Pringle and Christian Standhardinger carried the fight for Terrafirma with 23 and 22 points, respectively, but sorely missed the services of Tiongson, who only played for nine minutes before exiting the game with a suspected hamstring strain.
Paolo Hernandez added 18 points built on three four-pointers to make up for the lackluster showing from import Antonio Hester who was limited to just two points on just 12-minutes of play.
