PBA: Vets come through as Magnolia survives late scare from Converge for first win

Magnolia nearly squandered a 21-point lead but recovered just in time to hack out a 105-93 win over Converge in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup on Friday, Aug. 23.

Glen Robinson III led all Magnolia scorers with 28 points he embellished with five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Paul Lee, Ian Sangalang and Jerrick Ahanmisi chipped in 14 points each for the Hotshots, who recovered from their loss to Meralco in the season’s curtain-raiser.

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Magnolia got its bearings going in the third period where they led by as many as 20 points after Zavier Lucero’s tough layup with 2:30 left.

They continued pouncing on the FiberXers in the fourth period, with Lee hitting a three-pointer off Lucero’s screen for a 21-point edge, 89-68.

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But Converge tried to slowly chip away at the deficit and came to within 14 on BJ Andrade’s back-to-back treys, 89-75, 8:56 to go.

While Andrade cooled off after that, Kevin Racal picked up where his teammate left off. Five minutes later, a mini 10-2 run powered by Racal’s twin triples allowed Converge to close in, 97-87.

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The FiberXers did not stop there.

Quiet the entire match, Alec Stockton suddenly made his presence felt and completed a three-point play before kicking out to Racal in the right corner for another three, 98-93 with 1:58 left on the clock.

But when the going got tough, the Magnolia veterans got it going.

Ian Sangalang scored on a putback after Lucero’s botched reverse layup before Mark Barroca hit the dagger of a triple to restore order, 103-93.

“We want them to limit below 100 points. Our goal is 92 points per game. We did a good job on the defensive end,” said Hotshots coach Chito Victolero.

“Siguro, 'yung last five minutes of the game, doon lang medyo nag-relax kami. Akala namin panalo na. We need to address that situation. 'Di kami puwedeng ganoon. We need to be consistent on our defense.”

After a 46-point outburst in Converge's first win against Terrafirma, Scotty Hopson ended up with a still impressive 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Racal shot five three-pointers for 17 points, while Andrade and Justin Arana added 11 and 10 markers, respectively.

The Scores:

MAGNOLIA 105 – Robinson III 28, Ahanmisi 14, Lee 14, Sangalang 14, Abueva 10, Lucero 9, Barroca 7, Laput 2, Escoto 2, Balanza 2, Dela Rosa 2, Dionisio 1, Eriobu 0.

CONVERGE 93 – Hopson 26, Racal 17, Andrade 11, Arana 10, Santos 6, Delos Santos 5, Nieto 5, Cabagnot 4, Winston 3, Maagdenberg 3, Stockton 3, Melecio 0, Caralipio 0, Ambohot 0.