As much as the struggles in his first game back, Shabazz Muhammad still saved the day and delivered the clutch floater as Magnolia escaped by a hairline, 99-98, against the upset-seeking Terrafirma in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 12.

With the Hotshots staring at the face of disaster, trailing by four heading into the last two minutes, Zavier Lucero and Paul Lee came up huge before they rode the backs of their prolific import to evade the upset axe of the Dyip.

Muhammad did not have a dream return to the PBA after his brief but explosive stint with San Miguel two years ago as he only finished with 20 points to his name. 

He made sure to have the last laugh, nonetheless, as despite playing limited minutes after being saddled by foul trouble, Muhammad scored a tough floater over the outstretched arms of Andreas Cahilig to put Magnolia on top, 99-98, with seven seconds left.

The Hotshots then tightened up their defensive screws in the Dyip’s final possession, making sure that they would not get any clear shot at the basket as Stanley Pringle and Kevin Ferrer went wild with their last gasp attempts.

Muhammad's heroic, however, would not be possible if not for the timely hits from Lucero, who finished with 17 points, and Lee who only had nine but delivered a clutch four toward the end.

Down, 91-95, Lucero scored on a much-needed inside stab and snapped Magnolia back to its senses after coming out dry in the couple of possessions prior.

After a soild defensive stand on the other end, Lee then rose to the occasion with a booming four-pointer to shove the Hotshots back into the lead, 97-95, only to get answered by a gutsy step-back trey from rookie Paolo Hernandez and give the Dyip a precarious one-point advantage.

That, however, only set up the table for Muhammad’s game winner as the Dyip failed to put enough body to slow down the NBA veteran in the final possession.

Dyip import Antonio Hester had his best game for Terrafirma with 39 points and 16 rebounds against his former team. Pringle added 17 but was not enough for the Dyip who missed the services of Christian Standhardinger and Juami Tiongson.