by Jerome Lagunzad
That’s what the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok proved last night as they rallied from a huge deficit to stun the heavily favored San Miguel Beermen, 105-103, in Game 1 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Given up for the dead after a slow start that saw them fall behind by 19 points in the second quarter, the Hotshots rallied by behind the hot-shooting Ian Sangalang, Paul Lee, Mark Barroca and Raffy Reavis to take the opener of their best-of-seven title series.
After a long chase, the Hotshots finally knotted the count at 97-all on tough Lee basket with a little over three minutes left.
Though Reavis failed to complete a possible three-point play, the Hotshots finally grabbed the lead on a sweet jumper by Barroca, 101-100.
Sangalang then gave Magnolia a 103-100 lead with a side jumper but Marcio Lassiter tied it with a three.
But Sangalang put Magnolia on top again with two crucial charities 16.5 seconds left.
The Beermen had a chance to send the game into overtime after Jio Jalalon missed two free throws but Reavis blocked a potential game-tying basket by Arwind Santos as time experied.
Sangalang led the Hotshots with 29 points on a solid 13-of-19 shooting. He also had nine boards.
KINGS TAP EDWARDS
With original choice Justin Brownlee still tied up with Alab Pilipinas in the ASEAN Basketball League, crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra will have to make do with former Alaska import Shane Edwards in the early part of the PBA Commissioners Cup which gets going on April 21.
The 6-foot-8 Edwards, 30, has already agreed to terms to suit up as the Gin Kings’ stand-in import in the mid-season tournament until Brownlee finishes his commitment to Alab Pilipinas, which remains in strong contention for the ABL crown underscored by its current 13-6 record, good for third place.
His impending return to Asia’s first pay-for-play league will mark the second time that Edwards, a former Cleveland Cavalier himself, will be a plug-in reinforcement since he did the same to the Aces when former Best Import Rob Dozier was recovering from a plantar fasciitis injury in the 2016 Comm’s Cup edition.
A former University of Little Rock, Arkansas stalwart, Edwards made a good account of himself in his brief stint with Alaska, averaging 22.11 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while leading the Aces to a 6-4 record
Meanwhile, perennial contender TNT KaTropa intend to redeem themselves from a forgettable showing in the Philippine Cup with the help of former Golden State Warriors project Jeremy Tyler.
