MAGNOLIA clinched the second twice-to-beat edge in the PBA Philippine Cup playoffs after surviving a tough TNT stand, 88-83, over the weekend in the penultimate playdate of the eliminations.
As always, Zavier Lucero delivered his usual numbers of 24 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for the Hotshots, who surprisingly got quality minutes from 47-year-old Rafi Reavis.
READ: Magnolia rides Reavis heroics to beat TNT, clinch twice-to-beat
The huge win allowed the Hotshots to finish their elimination round campaign with an 8-3 record as they followed the NLEX Road Warriors in securing a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals that kick off next week.
Phoenix meanwhile, finished Season 49 on a winning note by walloping Blackwater, 124-109.
It was the first back-to-back wins for the Fuel Masters, who ended with a 4-7 slate, while the Bossing bowed out with a 2-9 slate.
Friday night’s twin bill at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium has three takeaways and listed below are some of them.
1.CLOSE CALL BETWEEN PHOENIX AND BLACKWATER FOR NO. 2 PICK
The Fuel Masters finished the season with their best record registered in all three conferences at 4-7. And in determining the ranking order in the rookie draft, record in the Philippine Cup has the biggest weight at 40 percent.
Both the Commissioner’s Cup and Governors’ Cup both carry a 30 percent weight. But in all, Phoenix owns the second worse record of Season 49 at 8-25 behind the woeful 3-30 slate of Terrafirma.
Blackwater came in third at 10-23, but owned a worse record than Phoenix in the All-Filipino Conference at 2-9. So who between the Fuel Masters and Bossing get to own the no. 2 overall pick in the coming draft? The suspense has just began.
2.TNT GRAND SLAM BID SUDDENLY IN PERIL
What was a bright prospect for the Tropang 5G’s Grand Slam bid a week ago is now slowly dimming. No thanks to back-to-back losses against Barangay Ginebra and Magnola, TNT’s back is literally against the wall.
With a 6-5 record to end the eliminations, the Tropang 5G finished at the lower half of the standings and faces a do-or-die scenario in the playoffs whichever team it meets.
To think it wasn’t a long time ago when the team finally reactivated big man Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser after fully recovering from his ACL injury, brought back veteran Almond Vosotros to fortify an injury-backcourt, boosted its roster by acquiring Jordan Heading in a blockbuster trade with Converge for AWOL guard Mikey Williams, and then signed up unrestricted free agent Mike Nieto as it put together a six-game winning streak.
All of those went up in smoke after the costly losses to the Kings and Hotshots, respectively. TNT is currently facing a one miss, you die scenario in its ambitious drive to complete a sweep of Season 49.
3.REAVIS STILL SERVICEABLE AT 47
Magnolia had been bashed left and right in the past for its decision to keep evergreen Rafi Reavis in its active roster despite not seeing action for most of the time the past few seasons.
The 47-year-old big man proved the doubters wrong in the Hotshots’ all-important game against TNT. Given extended minutes off the bench by coach Chito Victolero, the 6-foot-8 Fil-Am made the most out of the time by contributing four points and six rebounds in the win.
He was a joy to watch in the final minutes of the game when he grabbed three successive offensive boards that helped Magnolia preserved the win in the face of a searing endgame fightback by the Tropang 5G.
In doing so, Reavis proved he can still be a serviceable backup at the frontcourt for Zavier Lucero and Ian Sangalang.
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