ANTIPOLO - Magnolia won its second straight game on Sunday by repulsing Converge, 106-94, in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner’s Cup at Ynares Center I.
The Hotshots banked on the steady contributions of Clint Chapman and Zavier Lucero, got a boost from rookie Chris Koon and veteran Rome Dela Rosa, and held the FiberXers to one of their lowest scoring outputs of the conference to even their record to 4-4.
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The Hotshots have now won four of their last five games to revive their playoff bid after a horror 0-3 start to the midseason conference.
On the other hand, the FiberXers have now lost six of their last seven games to fall to 2-6 (win-loss), sliding dangerouly into the drop zone just days after ending a five-game losing skid with a win against Titan Ultra in their previous outing.
Magnolia is now in joint seventh with San Miguel and holding the advantage in case a tiebreak is needed.
Chapman collected 22 points and 14 rebounds, picking up his scoring in the fourth quarter with 11 in the fourth after he got into early foul trouble.
Lucero also had a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds. He had seven points in the first quarter alone while teaming up with Koon, who had six of his nine points in that period that got Magnolia ahead, 22-15.
Defense, however, was the main emphasis of Magnolia, which limited Juan Gomez de Liano to six points in the first three quarters before he exploded in the fourth to finish with a team-high 22 points. But not after the Hotshots had built a sizeable lead that reached as high as 84-64.
Converge import Kylor Kelley was limited to just seven points and six rebounds, his lowest output of the conference.
The 94 total points was also Converge's third-lowest in the conference.
“I always emphasize playing defense,” said Magnolia coach LA Tenorio. “Going into this game, I really challenged our players to really concentrate on getting stops and be solid on the halfcourt defense because we know that Converge can really score easily because of the talent that they have.”
Dela Rosa added 13 points, seven of which came in the fourth quarter, while Jerom Lastimosa had 10 in the wire-to-wire win.
The scores:
Magnolia 106 – Chapman 22, Lucero 17, Dela Rosa 13, Lastimosa 10, Koon 9, Barroca 8, Lee 7, Sangalang 7, Alfaro 6, Andrada 3, Verano 2, Gomez de Liano 2.
Converge 94 – Gomez de Liano 22, Stockton 19, Arana 15, Concepcion 14, Garcia 8, Kelley 7, Baltazar 6, Williams 2, Abueva 1, Policarpio 0.
Quarters: 22-15; 49-39; 74-64; 106-94.
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