MANILA – Magnolia Hotshots stretched their 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup winning run to five after toppling Alaska Aces 83-73 on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Romeo Travis led the Hotshots toward the solo first place (7-1) with 19 points and 17 rebounds. Jio Jalalon added 19 markers, nine rebounds and five assists, while Paul Lee and Andy Mark Barroca had 14 and 12 points, respectively.
In the first game, Baser Amer scored on a go-ahead triple to complete Meralco Bolts’ fight-back from 16 points down to beat NLEX Road Warriors 108-105 and snap their six-game skid.
Down 13-19 early in the second period, the Hotshots slowly clawed their way back behind Travis and Rafael Reavis to take a 24-23 lead, which grew further 45-31 at the half with conversions from Lee and Rodney Brondial.
The Hotshots went on to build their largest lead 51-31 early in the third on a basket by Jalalon but the Aces chipped the lead and pulled to within 56-65 heading into the fourth.
Making their last push in the fourth quarter, the Aces managed to come to as close as 73-75. They had opportunities to toe but 8 straight points from Lee, Jalalon and Barroca sealed the victory for the Hotshots.
Mike Harris finished with 24 points and 25 rebounds while Chris Banchero and Vic Manuel added 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Aces (5-2).
In the previous game, after trailing 66-82 at the onset of the fourth quarter, the Bolts made a run courtesy of Amer and Allen Durham, but the Road Warriors countered to maintain a 105-99 edge with 1:50 left in the match.
A triple by Reynel Hugnatan and a 3-point play by Amer knotted the count 105-all. After a turnover by the Road Warriors’ Juan Miguel Tiongson, Amer capped the Bolts’ 16-7 finishing run with a triple to snatch the lead for good.
Durham finished with 36 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists, while Amer chipped in 22 points, seven rebounds and four steals for the Bolts (2-4). Aaron Fuller had 31 points and 12 rebounds for the Road Warriors (4-5)./.PN
