MAGNOLIA heaved a sigh of relief as it finally arrested a rare losing skid in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The Hotshots survived the NLEX Road Warriors and Robert Bolick’s hot shooting in overtime to prevail, 99-95, and get back on the winning track after losing four games in a row.
READ: Magnolia win a dampener for Bolick’s historic five-point play
Coach Chito Victolero and his boys are now back in the win column with their 2-4 record, a timely boost to their confidence heading to their Christmas Day showdown with the Barangay Ginebra Kings.
The Road Warriors fell to 3-4 with their third straight loss.
The other half of Friday’s doubleheader at the Philsports Arena had Northport regaining the solo lead with a 120-113 thumping of road-weary Eastern.
The Batang Pier climbed back at no. 1 with 6-1 card, while dealing previous co-leader Eastern its second loss in seven outings for second place.
Here are the takeaways in the fourth to the last playdates of the mid-season conference this year.
1.MAGNOLIA NOT YET OUT OF THE WOODS
The win over NLEX was just a stop gap measure as the Hotshots next face rival Barangay Ginebra Kings in their final game for 2024.
It’s still a long way to go for the Purefoods franchise, but beating a tough Road Warriors side somehow helped restore the team’s pride and confidence that obviously took a hit after absorbing a string of losses that began against Converge, 93-91, in a game which the Hotshots led by as many as 20 points.
2. ZAVIER LUCERO, JEROM LASTIMOSA SERVE AS MAGNOLIA'S FUTURE
Slowly but surely, the changing of the guards is beginning to shape up within the Hotshots.
Against NLEX, the sophomore big man and rookie guard led the locals in scoring with 14 and 13 points, respectively, while making key plays down the stretch of the extra period along with import Ricardo Ratliffe, and durable team captain Mark Barroca.
Both Lucero and Lastimosa will definitely have a part in shaping the future of Magnolia in the seasons to come.
3.NLEX SUDDENLY CAUGHT IN A JAM
After a 3-1 start highlighted by a big come-from-behind win against defending champion San Miguel, the Road Warriors went on a freefall and lost their last three outings to go down below the .500 mark.
Robert Bolick remains the team’s go-to-guy in the clutch and import Mike Watkins has been doing his fair share both offensively and defensively. But it appears the lack of consistent local contributions to complement Bolick and Watkins is what hampering’s the NLEX campaign.
A bright side for the Road Warriors though, is the presence of rookie guard Xyrus Torres and the activation of another freshman in big man Brandon Ramirez.
4.NORTHPORT ENDS 2024 ON A WINNING NOTE
The Batang Pier will enter 2025 on a high note after winning their final game for the year against Eastern that put them back on top of the team standings.
The victory atoned for the team’s 115-109 upset at the hands of Phoenix, a loss which spoiled the hot start that saw the Batang Pier race to a 5-0 record.
Their resolve will be tested anew as they’ll be coming off a long, three-week break before resuming their campaign on January 8 with a big game against Barangay Ginebra at the Philsports Arena.
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