Paul Lee sparks Magnolia beatdown of Kia

Magnolia’s Paul Lee. PBA IMAGES

Paul Lee came alive in the third quarter and so did Magnolia on its way to a 124-77 beatdown of slumping Kia in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Lee scored all of his 13 points in the pivotal third period, where the Hotshots turned a two-point deficit to a 21-point lead, 81-60, entering the final frame.

“This is our first game in the new year so I told my players to start it right,” said Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero. “We just needed to adjust in the second half especially with our defense against McCarthy and their big men. We were out-hustled in the first half so we adjusted. we needed to control their”

“We limited them to under 80 points which was our goal. Paul had a good third quarter and that’s when we pulled away, but it also started with our pressure defense by our backcourt led by Mark Barroca,” added Victolero, whose squad improved to 2-1.

Lee came in at the 6:37 mark of the third quarter and immediately went to work. He sank a 3-pointer four seconds later before hitting a tough baseline drive that gave Magnolia a 62-51 lead with 4:47 to go.

He went 5-of-5 from the field during that blistering Hotshots’ run, capping off his explosion with a triple for a 79-58 buffer after going 0-of-3 in the first half.

Kia paraded a new head coach in Ricky Dandan but it was the same result for the Picanto, who have now lost 15 straight games dating back to last season which is now the longest losing skid in the league in the last 10 years.

Kia’s 37-point defeat also equals the worst loss of the franchise. The team also suffered a 37-point setback, 128-81, four months ago also at the hands of Star in the 2017 Governors’ Cup.

JayR Reyes paced Kia, which committed 25 turnovers and only shot 34% from the field, with 12 points and 12 rebounds while Reden celda, Ronald Tubid and Rashawn McCarthy had 11 points apiece.

The scores:

MAGNOLIA 124 – Melton 23, Sangalang 21, Herndon 14, Lee 13, Simon 11, Jalalon 11, Ramos 7, Gamalinda 6, Pingris 6, Barroca 4, Pascual 4, Dela Rosa 2, Brondial 2.

KIA 77 – Reyes 12, McCarthy 11, Celda 11, Tubid 11, Corpuz 9, Yee 6, Khobuntin 5, Paniamogan 5, Jamon 3, Caperal 2, Sara 2, Camson 0, Ababou 0, Galanza 0.

Quarters: 22-22, 49-47, 81-60, 124-77.