MANILA – Magnolia Hotshots overcame a 22-point deficit before pulling off a 103-100 victory over NLEX Road Warriors in the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center in Clark, Pampanga last night.
Down by as much as 22 points midway in the third period, the Hotshots slowly clawed their way back behind Jiovani Jalalon, Chris Banchero and Andy Mark Barroca to come to within 70-78.
Magnolia continued its rally in the fourth quarter behind Banchero and Jalalon to seize an 85-84 lead before widening it to 93-86 following a three-pointer from Paul Lee and two free throws from Jackson Corpuz.
The Road Warriors countered with a run behind Ilonggo Kiefer Ravena to regain the advantage at 100-97, but a four-point play by Lee followed by two free throws from Barroca swung the lead to the Hotshots, 103-100.
Banchero and Jalalon finished the match with 19 points apiece, Lee contributed 18 markers built on four three-point conversions while Barroca ended up with 13 points as the Hotshots rose to a 1-1 win-loss record.
Ravena, for his part, tallied 27 points, Kevin Alas contributed 18 markers while Ilonggo Jericho Cruz and JR Quinahan finished with 17 and 16 points respectively.
Meanwhile, the Meralco Bolts survived numerous rallies from the Alaska Aces to pull off a 93-81 victory to also barge into the win-column after dropping its opening assignment against Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters.
Allein Maliksi spearheaded the attack with 17 points, Baser Amer chipped in 15 markers while Reynel Hugnatan and Clifford Hodge contributed 13 and 11 points respectively as the Bolts rise to a 1-1 card.
Meralco had a dominant first half with shots from Maliksi, Hugnatan and Amer for a 46-29 advantage. Alaska attempted to make a run, but could only come to as close as 35-49 at the half.
The Aces started the second half strong as it leveled the score at 54-all, but the Bolts leaned on consecutive points from Maliksi. Free throws by Hugnatan and Black allowed Meralco to take a 77-58 lead early in the fourth quarter.
BOX SCORE:
MAGNOLIA 103 – Banchero 19, Jalalon 19, Lee 18, Barroca 13, Sangalang 9, Corpuz 9, Dionisio 8, Reavis 4, Dela Rosa 4, Melton 0, Calisaan 0.
NLEX 100 – Ravena 27, Alas 18, Cruz 17, Quinahan 16, Porter 5, Semerad 5, Ayonayon 5, Soyud 4, Ighalo 3, Miranda 0, Varilla 0, Galanza 0, Taulava 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
Q1, 23-23; Q2, 39-50; Q3, 70-78; Q4, 103-100./PN
