MANILA – Calvin Abueva came alive in the fourth quarter and the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots pulled off a 94-92 escape over TNT Tropang Giga in the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Haunted by five personal fouls, Abueva carried the Hotshots back in the game with consecutive shots. They turned a double-digit deficit to a 76-75 lead on a conversion by Nick Rakocevik.
Both teams traded leads before Abueva connected two free throws and a layup to give Magnolia a 92-90 lead. It was quickly tied by an inside conversion by Tropang Giga’s Cameron Oliver.
Magnolia’s Paul Lee then surged his team ahead for good at 94-92 via two free throws following a controversial foul called on Tropang Giga’s Calvin Oftana with four seconds left.
Abueva finished with 25 points, with 15 coming in the fourth quarter, to go with nine rebounds. The Hotshots tied Bay Area Dragons on top of the standings with 3-0 slate.
Rakocevic added double-double 22 points and 15 rebounds before he exited the game with an injury in the fourth quarter, while Lee and Andy Mark Barroca contributed 16 and 13, respectively, for Magnolia.
Oliver ended with 43 points, 17 rebounds and five assists. Roger Pogoy and Oftana had 23 and 12 markers, respectively, as the Tropang Giga started the conference with a defeat.
In the first game, Blackwater Bossing pulled off a 109-106 stunner over San Miguel Beermen. The Bossing moved up to 2-2, while Beermen dropped to 0-1.
Trailing 104-106 with under a minute left, Baser Amer surged the Bossing ahead at 107-106 with a corner three-pointer with a foul but Amer misfired his free throw.
Bossing’s Mike Ayonayon then intercepted a pass by Beermen’s Jaymar Perez to Diamond Stone to score a fastbreak layup for a 109-106 advantage with 20 seconds left.
Amer finished the game with 16 points, Ayonayon added 10 markers, while Reinforcement Cameron Krutwig tallied triple-double 20 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists for the Bossing./PN
BOX SCORE:
MAGNOLIA 94 – Abueva 25, Rakocevic 22, Lee 16, Barroca 13, Dionisio 9, Corpuz 5, Mendoza 3, Wong 1, Zaldivar 0, Reavis 0, Jalalon 0.
TNT 92 – Oliver 43, Pogoy 23, Oftana 12, Montalbo 4, Ganuelas-Rosser 4, Marcelo 3, Alejandro 3, Cruz 0, Tungcab 0, K. Williams 0.
Quarterscores: 26-29, 42-54, 62-73, 94-92.
