Antonio Hester proved to be the biggest thorn on the side of his former team as Magnolia displayed poise in the endgame to oust a gallant Terrafirma side with a thrilling 121-115 overtime win in the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Saturday, March 4.
Hester joined hands with Jio Jalalon as the Hotshots unleashed a last-ditch 8-1 effort in the final minute of the regulation to force an extra period before getting timely hits from Calvin Abueva and Mark Barroca in overtime en route to the victory.
The win improved their win-loss tally to 6-4.
The burly Magnolia import scattered 18 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter and in overtime while hauling 17 rebounds. Abueva, Barroca and Paul Lee provided support with 16 points each even as Jalalon chipped in 13 points.
Terrafirma actually looked poised to take the victory and end its 14-game losing streak at the hands of Magnolia after leading 109-102 in the last 1:32 of the final frame.
The Hotshots, however, refused to give up easily as Jalalon ignited the fire in Magnolia with four quick points before Hester scored the last four markers off two excellent defensive stops to force an extension.
Riding the momentum from its late run in the regulation, Magnolia showed solid resolve as it completed big plays down the stretch while Terrafirma seemed to have run out of gas.
Jordan Williams erupted for 45 points for the Dyip, but managed to only score three in the extra period as Terrafirm was limited to only five points in the extension.
The Dyip absorbed its eighth-straight loss in the conference to plummet at 2-8, dashing all of their hopes to advance to the quarterfinals.