MANILA – Paul Lee anchored Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots’ fourth quarter spurt to score a 75-66 victory over the slumping Blackwater Bossing in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With the score tied at 49-all after three quarters, Lee opened the fourth period with a three-pointer and five free throws conversions to surge the Hotshots to a 61-51 advantage.
The Bossing attempted to come close but the Hotshots responded with conversions from Calvin Abueva, Jackson Corpuz and Ian Sangalang to build its biggest lead at 75-60 via an Aris Dionisio triple.
Lee finished the game with 22 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter, while Abueva chipped in double-double 15 points and 10 rebounds as the Hotshots finished the elimination round with seven straight wins.
The Hotshots ended the elimination round with 8-3 win-loss slate to enter the quarterfinals round as the third seed and will face no.6 ranked NLEX Road Warriors in a best-of-three series.
Rookie Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser was the lone double-digit scorer for the Bossing with 12 points to go with seven rebounds as they end the regular season with five straight losses.
The Bossing thus ended up as the eighth seed team going into the quarterfinals round with its 5-6 record and will have a twice-to-win disadvantage against the no.1 seed San Miguel Beermen.
The other quarterfinals pairing has the no.2 seed TNT Tropang Giga (8-3) having a twice-to-beat advantage over no.7 ranked Converge FiberXers (5-6) and no.4 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings (8-3) facing no.5 Meralco Bolts (7-4) in a best-of-three series.
The Road Warriors, meanwhile, avoided falling into the dangerous no.7 and no.8 seed in the quarterfinals with a lopsided 109-95 domination over the also-ran NorthPort Batang Pier in the first game.
Negrense Raul Soyud had his best game of the conference with 19 points and six rebounds, Calvin Oftana and Celedonio Trollano added 18 and 16 points, respectively, while Philip Paniamogan and Anthony Semerad contributed 15 points apiece for NLEX.
BOX SCORE:
MAGNOLIA 75 – Lee 22, Abueva 15, Sangalang 8, Corpuz 7, Dionisio 7, Jalalon 4, Barroca 4, Wong 4, Ahanmisi 2, Dela Rosa 2, Reavis 0.
BLACKWATER 66 – Ganuelas-Rosser 12, Suerte 8, Casio 7, Escoto 7, Ular 6, Amer 6, McCarthy 5, Dyke 5, Ayonayon 5, Go 2, Melton 2, Publico 1, Ebona 0.
Quarterscores: 13-15, 27-32, 49-49, 75-66./PN
