THE real Magnolia showed up in the second half, turning back Meralco, 94-80, to gain the early upper hand in the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Magnolia vs Meralco recap
The top-seeded Hotshots climbed out of a 17-point hole behind a second-half surge on the way to a 14-point victory in Game One.
Game Two of the best-of-five series is on Friday also at MOA Arena.
The Hotshots flaunted their trademark defense throughout the game, but they fired blanks on offense in the first half as they fell behind, 33- 16, after a Bong Quinto layup with 7:48 in the second quarter.
The Hotshots finally found the mark after intermission, turning the game around in the third quarter where they outscored the Bolts, 29-13, to build a cushion that they maintained in the payoff period.
“I told my players that if we cannot match up with the intensity of Meralco, we can’t win this game,” Hotshots coach Chito Victolero said. “I’m proud that they stepped up. We started to play Magnolia Hotshots basketball, with our effort and defense.”
Mike Harris showed the way with 26 points, 16 boards, four assists, and one steal without turning the ball over in 41 minutes, while Jio Jalalon, Paul Lee, and Calvin Abueva came alive after a slow start lead the turnaround.
Jalalon scored all his 15 points in the last three quarters, while Lee scattered all his 13 points in the second half. Abueva, for his part, chipped in eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter.
The Hotshots’ defense was evident on Bolts import Tony Bishop, who was held to 10 points after missing all but five of his 19 shots in almost 41 minutes of play.
The scores:
Magnolia 94 - Harris 26, Jalalon 15, Lee 13, Abueva 12, Barroca 9, Dionisio 7, Dela Rosa 6, Wong 5, Sangalang 1, Reavis 0, Brill 0, Corpuz 0.
Meralco 80 - Banchero 16, Quinto 13, Bishop 10, Newsome 8, Maliksi 7, Black 7, Baclao 6, Hodge 5, Almazan 4, Caram 2, Hugnatan 2, Jose 0.
Quarters: 12-22, 35-43, 64-56, 94-80.
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