The Magnolia Timplados Hotshots showed enough endgame poise to fend off Terrafirma Dyip, 108-100, and move on to the quarterfinal round of the 48th Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Friday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Ian Sangalang drilled in 23 points, eight rebounds, and four assists for the Hotshots, who jumped from a share of third to fifth positions to no. 3 in the team standings.
Andy Barroca struck with points, including eight crucial ones in the final period, which allowed the Hotshots to secure a best-of-three quarterfinals slot with their 6-4 record.
The Hotshots squandered a nine-point edge in the remaining 10:10, and the Dyip went on to force two deadlocks, with the last one at 95-all.
That was when Magnolia regained the upperhand off the sniping of Sangalang and Rafi Reavis, 99-95.
From there, Magnolia nursed their slim advantage, with Sangalang unloading a lay-up off a broken play before Barroca sank a triple and a floater for a decisive 7-0 run that led to a 106-98 Magnolia edge with 51 seconds left.
“We are a veteran team. And we have a bunch of players who are experienced,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero.
The win allowed the Hotshots to bounce back from their 91-98 loss to San Miguel Beer and a 51-74 trouncing from the Meralco Bolts.
“It just happened that we had a bad game in our last game. We just try to move forward,” added Victolero.
The Dyip with Stephen Holt leading with 32 points, fell behind with their 5-6 slate.
The Scores:
MAGNOLIA 108 – Sangalang 23, Barroca 21, Lee 17, Reavis 10, Eriobu 8, Balanza 8, Jalalon 7, Dela Rosa 5, Dionisio 5, Tratter 4
TERRAFIRMA 100 – Holt 32, Tiongson 14, Go 13, Gomez de Liano 13, Cahilig 9, Alolino 7, Carino 7, Sangalang 4, Ramos 1, Calvo 0, Camson 0
QUARTERS: 28-16, 50-44, 80-71, 108-100