Magnolia Pambansang Manok forced a deciding Game 5 in the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals after a 94-73 win over Meralco Wednesday, March 30 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Hotshots bucked an 11-0 deficit at the start as import Mike Harris, Paul Lee and Calvin Abueva played the lead roles in keeping their campaign alive and denying the Bolts’ first crack at reaching the finals.
Both teams play for the final time this conference on Friday at the same venue, with the winner earning the right to face Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the championship series.
“We played with a mentality of playing like there’s no tomorrow,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero. “We also talked about grinding it out possession by possession and to enjoy the game na parang nawala sa amin nung last two games.
“We made some adjustments but basically it’s all about the effort and staying together for 48 minutes. They had some runs but we weathered the storm and did a good job of executing on both ends of the floor.”
Lee bounced back from a five-point outing in Game 3 by hitting 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting, playing a key role in giving Magnolia another chance at advancing to the title series.
Harris had 34 points and 18 rebounds to lead Magnolia while Abueva had a +39 rating whenever he’s on the floor while producing 11 points and eight rebounds.
Jio Jalalon added 10 points, four rebounds and seven assists for the Hotshots.
Import Tony Bishop finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds but Meralco couldn’t secure a fourth finals appearance in the last five editions of the tournament on its first try.
Chris Newsome was the only other Bolt in double figures with 11 as Chris Banchero, who was dealing with back spasms, and Allein Maliksi were held to seven points apiece.
Magnolia overcame the slow start to eventually take control of the contest, leading 46-32 early in the third.
Led by Bishop, Meralco was able to pull within four, 46-42, after 10 straight points but Magnolia refused to relinquish its lead.
Physicality increased in the second half with Abueva, Lee and Meralco’s Cliff Hodge getting involved in some mild skirmishes.
The scores:
MAGNOLIA 94 — Harris 34, Lee 17, Abueva 11, Jalalon 10, Corpuz 9, Barroca 5, Sangalang 4, Reavis 2, Brill 2, Wong 0, Dela Rosa 0.
MERALCO 73 — Bishop 22, Newsome 11, Almazan 8, Banchero 7, Maliksi 7, Quinto 6, Caram 4, Hodge 3, Black 3, Baclao 2, Canete 0 ,Pasaol 0.
Quarters: 20-19, 42-30, 62-52, 94-73.