Games today:
(Ynares Sports Center)
3 p.m. — NLEX vs Terrafirma
6:15 p.m. — Rain or Shine vs Phoenix
Magnolia brought its A-game and won its third straight game as the Hotshots dealt Northport a severe beating, 112-74, in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Hotshots, who swept all their games in the PBA preseason tournament, had the game in the bag as early as the first quarter when they took a 31-10 lead.
Magnolia now has a 3-0 win-loss slate and it extended its string of wins to 14 games stretching back to the preseason.
“We want to develop our killer’s instinct,” said Magnolia’s veteran guard Mark Barroca. “It’s something we need to develop because in the preseason and tuneup games, we were losing big leads.”
“Coach told us that every time we’re up, we need to continue to go hard. That would be our edge over the other teams. We need to do that from start to finish.”
Magnolia did just that versus NorthPort.
Import Tyler Bey immediately followed the script that was laid down by head coach Chito Victolero by shooting eight straight points and followed it up with back-to-back three-point plays to give the Hotshots a 45-23 spread, 4:39 remaining before the break.
During the first two quarters, Magnolia made 21 points off turnovers, 18 more than its rival.
The Hotshots also scored 28 points inside the shaded lane compared to only 12 for the Batang Pier.
Offensively, Magnolia was steady in the first half, shooting 51.4 percent (19-of-37) while NorthPort just couldn’t get its game going and shot a woeful 31.6 percent (12-of-38).
The Hotshots ended up shooting even better, hitting 56.4 percent (44-of-78).
Meanwhile, action resumes on Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City as NLEX and Terrafirma, two teams coming off a win, clash in the first game at 3 p.m.
Fresh from pulling off a morale-boosting 117-113 overtime victory over San Miguel Beer in a game where they fought back from a 19-point deficit, the Road Warriors are upbeat about their chances against the Dyip, who just outplayed Blackwater, 97-87, last Wednesday.
Rain or Shine, which lost back-to-back games this early, tries to barge into the win column when it takes on Phoenix, a team that is looking to make up from its defeat to the Hotshots.
