By REYNALDO MAGALLON
An in-form Magnolia leaned on its deadly backcourt trio of Mark Barroca, Paul Lee and Jio Jalalon and downed Rain or Shine, 112-97, to sustain its rise in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 22
The Hotshots three-headed guard combo stood at the forefront of their assault on both ends of the court, catching the Elasto Painters flat-footed all throughout the contest to extend their winning run to four and improve to a 4-3 record in standings.
Jalalon finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists while Barroca also produced the same output – including 11 straight bridging the third and fourth quarters when Magnolia further padded its lead to its largest at 23 points.
Interestingly, Lee also contributed 19 – 10 of which came in the third frame, allowing the Hotshots to keep a comfortable distance against the hard-fighting Elasto Painters.
Antonio Hester provided a solid wall for Magnolia inside the paint with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
The Hotshots went off to a hot start, showing their defensive teeth and the torrid shooting in the opening frame to take a 33-19 advantage. Rain or Shine showed some semblance of fight but the backcourt trio of Lee, Barroca and Jalalon continued to find answers to every Elasto Painters run.
Rain or Shine, despite the combined efforts of Santi Santillan and Beau Belga, just couldn’t break into the 10-point barrier Magnolia put up as time and again the Hotshots managed to stretch the lead back to safe distance in the second half.
Greg Smith had a lackluster return to Rain or Shine lineup only finishing with 15 points and four rebounds while Santillan added 14 points as the Elasto Painters saw their two game win streak snapped for a 2-5 slate.
In the first game, Robert Bolick and import Kevin Murphy joined hands in steering NorthPort to its first win, taking down Terrafirma, 115-100.
Bolick and Murphy spearheaded the scoring anew for the erstwhile winless Batang Pier, but this time, got ample support from the likes of JM Calma and Joshua Munzon to also give interim head coach Bonnie Tan his first win in as head coach in the PBA.
Murphy finished with 28 points and nine rebounds but more importantly, didn’t have to jack up a large volume of attempts unlike in the first two games, wounding up with a much-better 10-of-25 clip from the field.
Bolick as usual added an all-around effort of 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists but it was the 18 points and nine rebounds of Calma and 17 points from Munzon which proved to be the difference as the Batang Pier kept the Dyip at bay in the second half after building a double-digit advantage in the first two quarters.
The scores:
First Game
NORTHPORT 115 – Murphy 28, Bolick 26, Calma 18, Munzon 17, Tolentino 9, Taha 7, Chan 5, Zamar 4, Sumang 1, Caperal 0, Balagasay 0, Santos 0, Vigil 0, Ayaay 0, Salado 0.
TERRAFIRMA 100 – J.Williams 25, Tiongson 18, Calvo 12, Camson 12, Gabayni 9, Cahilig 7, Ramos 7, Mina 3, Daquioag 3, Gomez de Liano 2, Alolino 2, Cabagnot 0, Grospe 0.
Quarters: 33-28, 61-47, 88-80, 115-100.
Second Game
MAGNOLIA 112 – Jalalon 19, Lee 19, Barroca 19, Hester 17, Escoto 10, Dela Rosa 8, Reavis 6, Dionisio 6, Abueva 4, Wong 2, Zaldivar 2, Mendoza 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 97 – Smith 15, Santillan 14, Demusis 11, Yap 9, Belga 9, Caracut 9, Ildefonso 8, Asistio 6, Norwood 5, Nambatac 5, Mamuyac 4, Clarito 2, Ponferrada 0.
Quarters: 33-19, 53-44, 91-77, 112-97.
