MAGNOLIA clinched a semifinal berth after a 127-88 blowout victory over Phoenix Super LPG on Friday night in the PBA 46th Season Governors’ Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Paul Lee started the onslaught with 20 of his 25 points in the first half and the top-seeded Hotshots were never seriously threatened from there to advance to a best-of-five semifinal series against Meralco.
Calvin Abueva finished with 12 points and nine rebounds in his first game back after missing the last seven games due to a calf injury.
The Fuel Masters couldn’t get into any rhythm offensively all game, trailing by as many as 45 points. Compounding their woes was the absence of Matthew Wright, who fouled out with still 4:56 in the third quarter.
“We executed well on both ends of the floor. We started on our defense and we talked for the last three days on how we can control or minimize the contributions of Wright, their import, and [Jason] Perkins,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero.
Balanced scoring
Eight players scored in double figures for the Hotshots with Mark Barroca adding 18 points and seven assists. Import Mike Harris had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Jio Jalalon added 18 points and eight assists.
Magnolia built a 34-20 lead at the end of the first quarter and it was all Hotshots from there with Lee converting 12 points in the second period to raise the lead to 66-46.
The gap swelled to 102-67 with still one quarter to go.
Du’Vaughn Maxwell scored 32 points while Jason Perkins added 11 points and nine rebounds for Phoenix. Wright finished with eight points and eight assists amid speculations over his future with the team.
Wright's contract with Phoenix is set to expire.
The scores:
Magnolia 127 – Lee 25, Barroca 18, Jalalon 15, Harris 15, Abueva 12, Sangalang 11, Wong 11, Dela Rosa 10, Dionisio 5, Ahanmisi 3, Reavis 2, Brill 0, Corpuz 0, Escoto 0.
Phoenix Super LPG 88 – Maxwell 32, Perkins 11, Garcia 10, Wright 8, Melecio 7, Jazul 7, Robles 6, Pascual 4, Demusis 3, Manganti 0, Camacho 0, Rios 0, Porter 0.
Quarters: 34-20; 66-46; 102-67; 127-88.
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