Magnolia, which last won a championship in the 2018 Governors’ Cup, punched a ticket to the semifinals. The Hotshots await the winner between NorthPort and Ginebra.
With his left shoe off, Magnolia Hotshots import Nick Rakocevic was limping on his way back to the locker room after a hard-earned 102-95 win against Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals on Friday.
With still 8:42 remaining in a dragging third period littered with technical fouls, Rakocevic landed on teammate Ian Sangalang’s foot and sprained his left ankle.
On the floor for a couple of minutes, the Serbian import was grimacing in pain. His teammates had to assist him back to the bench and the locker room at the PhilSports Arena.
Knowing what’s at stake for the title-hungry Hotshots, he returned to the floor minutes later and provided the inside presence Magnolia badly needed to scrape past Phoenix and seal a semifinals berth in the import-spiced conference.
He finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds, 4 steals, and 5 blocks.
“To be honest with you I have no idea. I think it was just the adrenaline and support I had from my coaches and my teammates,” Rakocevic said when asked about coming back to the game after suffering the injury.
In his stead, Calvin Abueva did the heavy lifting and dropped 10 of his 19 points in the fourth period to seal the victory for their team that last won a championship in the 2018 Governors’ Cup.
Magnolia assistant coach Jason Webb, who called the shots as head coach Chito Victolero observed health protocols, admitted Phoenix gave them a hard time.
“Actually they didn’t look undermanned,” Webb said of Phoenix, which missed the services of RJ Jazul and RR Garcia. “They gave us a lot of matchup problems because they played big. We weren’t ready for that. It took us until the fourth quarter before we figured it out. Credit to that team. They kept us off balanced the entire time.”
In the end, Magnolia prevailed.
“Yung willl na lang nung mga bata yung nag-prevail nung dulo. The veterans, the guys on the bench, the management, their support… We wanted this one. We needed this one,” Webb said.
Magnolia could potentially face Ginebra in another Manila Clasico showdown in the semifinals should the Gin Kings finish off NorthPort on Saturday.
But it seems like Magnolia is going to have to root for NorthPort in Saturday’s clash to allow their wounded import to recover.
“We have to ice Nick’s ankles for a while,” Webb said in jest. “If we’re lucky, that series will go another day so we end up playing Friday. If not, we’ll be ready Wednesday."
“Hopefully everybody’s going to be 100 percent. But it’s the playoffs. Even if you're not a 100 percent, their hearts will be a 100 percent even if their health is not.”