The Magnolia Hotshots keep #WinningForPing.
For the second straight time after Marc Pingris fell with an ACL injury and during the day when the veteran forward underwent a successful operation, the Hotshots defeated the NLEX Road Warriors, 106-99, Wednesday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
It was a balanced attack from inside and outside featuring Ian Sangalang and Jio Jalalon as the two led the Hotshots on offense in the high-scoring affair.
Sangalang, the most consistent scorer for Magnolia in the Philippine Cup Semifinals, had 24 points on 10 of 15 shooting from the field. Jalalon, on the other end, led them with 25 as the guard shot better than the big man from the field at 10 of 13 including four makes from the three-point range.
"It's all about the team effort, sustaining the aggressiveness, energy, intensity," Hotshots coach Chito Victolero said. "That was really our game plan. We wanted to carry the momentum from Game 2 into Game 3. We need to dig deep because we're undermanned."
While the young guns built the lead for Magnolia, it was the veteran Rafi Reavis who scored the dagger as he cleaned up after his own miss to give the Hotshots a 104-95 lead with 50 seconds remaining in the contest.
Kiefer Ravena led five Road Warriors in double digits with 20 points but they could only blame themselves as they missed crucial free throws in the second half.
The big different for Magnolia was their three-point shooting as they made 11 of 21 attempts for an impressive 52% while NLEX could only muster up 7 of 25 for a paltry 28%.
With both teams already knowing how to compete with the other in Game 3, Magnolia and NLEX engaged in a tight first half with the Hotshots holding a slim 53-51 advantage.
For the second straight game, a point guard led the charge early for Magnolia but it wasn't Paul Lee this time around as Jalalon dropped 14 points in the first 24 minutes on 3 of 4 from the three-point range. The Road Warriors were able to stay in the game as Larry Fonacier also scored in double digits with 10 first half points.
Magnolia tried pulling away early in the third quarter as they rode the hot hand of Lee who scored 7 early points in the period to give the Hotshots a 9-point lead, 68-59, their biggest lead at that point. However, Alex Mallari and Kiefer Ravena combined for 13 points on a NLEX run midway through the third to inch the Road Warriors closer, 70-68, with 4:30 left.
Michael Miranda momentarily gave NLEX the lead as he canned a late triple but PJ Simon beat the third quarter buzzer with a pull-up jumper to give Magnolia a 79-78 lead.
The Hotshots started taking control of the game again midway through the fourth quarter thanks to the combined efforts of Jalalon and Sangalang as they led 97-89 with 5:31 left.
THE SCORES
MAGNOLIA 106 - Jalalon 25, Sangalang 24, Dela Rosa 17, Lee 14, Ramos 7, Simon 7, Barroca 6, Herndon 4, Reavis 2, Brondial 0, Pascual 0.
NLEX 99 - Ravena 20, Alas 15, Quinahan 13, Miranda 11, Fonacier 10, Mallari 9, Al-Hussaini 8, Gotladera 6, Tiongson 3, Taulava 2, Baguio 2.
Quarters: 24-27, 53-51, 79-78, 106-99.
EXTRA DRIBBLES
- Marc Pingris underwent a successful operation to repair his torn ACL at St. Luke's Medical Center - Global City. He's expected to be discharged in one to two days.
- Justin Melton was in uniform for the Hotshots but did not see action for the second straight game.
NEXT GAME
Game 4: March 17, 7 pm, at the Mall of Asia Arena