PAUL Lee scored 27 points and hit back-to-back four-pointers in the fourth quarter to put away Magnolia's 117-92 win over Meralco on Wednesday in the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Lee’s back-to-back fours widened the Hotshots’ lead to 108-86 with 4:22 left in the fourth quarter - more than enough to take the fight out of the Bolts and maintain the Hotshots' unbeaten run that now stands at 6-0.
Tension, however, flared at the 2:16 mark of the fourth quarter when Cliff Hodge and Zavi Lucero got into an altercation, resulting in Hodge being hit with his sixth and final foul and Lucero and Raymond Almazan getting slapped with technical fouls.
Lee hit four four-pointers in the game to sustain his offensive resurgence in the season-ending conference.
The closest Meralco got in the match was at 90-81, but the Bolts fouled Lee while taking a four-point shot, and made all of his free throws to extend the lead to 13 with 7:31 left, until it eventually became a 28-point advantage, the largest in the match.
Magnolia coach Chito Victolero admitted being worried about the match since they are coming off a 10-day break from their blowout win over Terrafirma.
“’Yung preparation namin, hindi ganun ka-sharp sa practice. But ‘yung last two days namin, ‘yun ‘yung medyo maganda naman. I feel like may chance kami today because maganda ‘yung practice namin the last two days,” said Victolero.
Ian Sangalang had 16 points and nine rebounds, while Lucero and Rome Dela Rosa added 11 points each with Lucero grabbing seven rebounds for the Hotshots, who also got 10 assists from Mark Barroca.
Chris Banchero added 20 points and five rebounds, while Chris Newsome had 14 points but was saddled with five fouls.
Meralco dropped to 3-5 and has now lost five of its last six games since winning its first two in the conference.
The scores:
Magnolia 117 – Lee 27, Sangalang 16, Lucero 11, Laput 11, Dela Rosa 11, Barroca 9, Lastimosa 9, Alfaro 9, Abueva 8, Ahanmisi 4, Escoto 2, Dionisio 0, Eriobu 0, Mendoza 0.
Meralco 92 – Banchero 20, Newsome 14, Quinto 13, Almazan 13, Hodge 10, Black 10, Cansino 8, Bates 4, Jose 0, Torres 0, Rios 0, Pasaol 0.
Quarters: 30-19; 55-45; 82-63; 117-82.
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