MANILA – Magnolia Pambansang Manok Hotshots recovered from a slow start to defeat Meralco Bolts, 88-85, in the 2021-2022 PBA Governors’ Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Down by double-digits at the half, the Hotshots had a strong second half uprising behind import Michael Harris and Andy Mark Barroca for a 77-68 lead in the fourth quarter.
The Bolts responded with a huge rally to trim the deficit to 74-77 but the Hotshots pulled away anew at 83-76 with back-to-back inside hits from Harris and Rafael Reavis.
Meralco made its last push at 85-86 after back-to-back three-pointer by Allein Maliksi. An inside conversion by Harris, however, and a defensive stop sealed the win for Magnolia.
Harris finished the match with double-double 30 points and 22 rebounds, Paul Lee added 16 markers, while Barroca, Adrian Wong and Jiovani Jalalon with 10 markers apiece for Hotshots.
With 8-1 win-loss slate, the Hotshots has officially book a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.
Tony Bishop led the way with double-double 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Chris Newsome chipped in 18 markers as the Bolts dropped to 6-3 record.
In the first game, NorthPort Batang Pier cruised to a wire-to-wire 116-103 domination over Blackwater Bossing. It was the Batang Pier’s fourth straight victory as they improved to 4-5.
After being down early in the game, the Batang Pier got conversions from reinforcement Jamel Artis, Jamie Malonzo and Robert Bolick Jr. to establish a 66-54 halftime lead.
NorthPort went on to build its largest lead at 95-75 but Blackwater rallied back to within 91-99 before Arwind Santos restored order for the Batang Pier with timely conversions.
Bolick led the way with double-double 30 points and 10 assists, Artis added 26 points, while Santos chipped in 21 points and 13 assists for the Batang Pier.
THE SCORES:
MAGNOLIA 88 – Harris 30, Lee 16, Jalalon 10, Barroca 10, Wong 10, Reavis 6, Corpuz 4, Escoto 2, Brill 0, Ahanmisi 0, Dionisio 0
MERALCO 85 – Bishop 19, Newsome 18, Banchero 13, Maliksi 13, Almazan 6, Hodge 5, Caram 5, Black 4, Belo 2, Quinto 0.
Quarterscores: 11-23, 36-47, 68-66, 88-85./PN
