Magnolia had a hard time pulling away from NorthPort, but Paul Lee, Zavier Lucero and Glen Robinson made the biggest baskets in the final minutes to claim the win.
Paul Lee came up big in the clutch as Magnolia warded off a tough NorthPort side, 105-94, in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup on Wednesday, Sept. 4.
The Hotshots improved to a 3-2 win-loss record in Group A but had to bleed to score the win against the Batang Pier, who missed the services of injured import Venky Jois and William Navarro.
Lee made things happen in the final four minutes of action, beginning with the free throws with still 3:43 left to play that allowed the Hotshots to break free from the back-and-forth battle.
But Magnolia's main weapon did not only strut his stuff on the offensive end.
Lee crossed Cade Flores, drawing two defenders before setting up Aris Dionisio for a cold-blooded corner triple for a 97-91 lead.
After that, he took advantage of the mismatch against former teammate Jio Jalalon and Glen Robinson drove baseline for an emphatic two-handed dunk and the 101-91 buffer with 1:26 to go.
Lee would later seal the win with a pair of shots from the foul line for the final score.
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Lee finished with 20 points he complemented with a game-high 11 assists. He also had five rebounds and two steals.
Robinson topscored for Magnolia with 25 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks.
But it was Zavier Lucero who earned the Best Player of the Game nod with his 16 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and an assist.
Jerrick Ahanmisi and Calvin Abueva chipped in 10 points each.
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“In the halftime, the reminder was if we want to win this game, we have to play solid on both ends of the floor,” said Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero. “
"'Yun, buti na lang nag-grind kami. We don’t shortcut everything.”
In the absence of an import, NorthPort leaned on Cade Flores who delivered with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Flores also had three blocks for the Batang Pier, who kept in step with the Hotshots from start until the final minutes.
Joshua Munzon and Damie Cuntapay had 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Arvin Tolentino produced a double-double outing of 11 points and 12 rebounds on top of six assists, two blocks and two steals.
The Scores:
MAGNOLIA 105 – Robinson 25, Lee 20, Lucero 16, Ahanmisi 10, Abueva 10, Sangalang 8, Barroca 5, Dionisio 5, Balanza 2, Dela Rosa 2, Laput 1, Mendoza 0, Eriobu 0.
NORTHPORT 94 – Flores 23, Munzon 13, Cuntapay 12, Tolentino 11, Yu 10, Onwubere 7, Jalalon 5, Bulanadi 4, Tratter 4, Nelle 3, Amores 2, Taha 0.
Quarterscores: 23-22, 46-46, 76-73, 105-94