Myles Powell took over in the final frame as Bay Area took down Magnolia, 95-89, to seize the pole position in the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Saturday, Nov. 19.
Powell thoroughly dissected Hotshots league-leading defense, dropping 11 of his 32 points – including two huge layups in the waning minutes to keep Magnolia at bay and notch his team’s ninth win through 11 games.
The 6-foot-1 import just shrugged off the defense of Jio Jalalon, Rome Dela Rosa and Jio Jalalon to spearhead the Dragons' searing attack while also collaring 10 boards. Glen Yang also provided solid support with his 19 points while Songwei Zhu added 15.
After allowing the Hotshots take a brief 10-5 lead, Powell went on to work and scored 11 of his output to give the Dragons the lead they never relinquished despite Magnolia hanging tough all throughout the contest.
The Hotshots actually kept themselves within striking distance, only down by four, 91-87, with 40 seconds left following a booming triple from Jalalon. Zhu answered with two free throws before Nick Rakocevic retaliated with a layup on the other end.
Magnolia had another shot of inching closer but Jalalon went wide right on his triple before Zhu iced the game with two more charities.
Nick Rakocevic paced Magnolia with 26 points and 18 rebounds while Jalalon and Paul Lee added 19 and 15, respectively.