CHICAGO - After starting lava hot in the opening quarter where they opened a 19-point lead, the Magnolia Hotshots turned arctic cold and got run over by the NLEX Road Warriors, 107-99.
Basketball is a game of runs and losing huge leads is par for the course in the modern game, more so in the PBA where the 4-point shot is on the menu.
READ Lee, Sangalang, Navarro receive death threats after Magnolia loss
But when cruel reversals such as Friday night's debacle at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium inflicts Magnolia, it's not just happenstance, it's a collapse that the Hotshots seemed to have perfected through agonizing practice over time.
Magnolia is 0-2 since acquiring William Navarro via trade from NorthPort last week, dropping to second place in the standings at 7-3 and endangering its bid for twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?
Let's start with Magnolia scoring an anemic 15 points while surrendering 29 in the second quarter. Hitting just 2-of-15 from 3 certainly didn't help, a disaster that was exacerbated by being outscored in the perimeter, 51-34.
The guard play was horrendous, producing just 18 assists against 17 turnovers, an almost 1-to-1 ratio. And the coaching was, to put it mildly, Hall-of-Lame material when it came to substitution patterns in the second quarter and adjustments in the fourth quarter.
If rumors are really true that coach Chito Victolero is on the hot seat, he just turned that seat into a raging inferno. Losing winnable games two in a row with a souped-up line-up does that.
Magnolia could have been 9-1 now, sitting pretty and resting starters for the playoffs. Instead, they face grand slam-seeking TNT next Friday in a must-win duel to avoid complications.
Zavier Lucero, as usual, was like a Rolex on Friday, reliable and consistent with 22 points and 12 rebounds while hitting 9-of-15 field goals.
Ian Sangalang had 21 points which he blemished with five turnovers while Jerom Lastimosa finished with 17 points and three dimes.
THERE'S NO D IN MAGNOLIA.
In the end, it was the defense, their calling card for years, that betrayed Magnolia as the Hotshots allowed NLEX to shoot 54,9 percent from the field (39-of-71) including giving up three 4-pointers and eleven 3s.
Robert Bolick held the knife with 25 points, but it was Brandon Ramirez who delivered the mortal blows for NLEX by coming out of nowhere to torment Magnolia with 18 points,
After a strong start to this Philippine Cup, doubts begin to linger around a franchise that is currently going through the famine of a seven-year title drought.
Can Navarro gel with his new team in time for the postseason or did his addition mess up team chemistry?
Can Lucero, inarguably the best player on the line-up, save the Hotshots from another potential meltdown?
Is Victolero still the right coach for this team?
Discuss amongst yourselves.
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