Romeo Travis drops 50 as Magnolia ousts Ginebra to enter PBA Finals

ANTIPOLO—Magnolia silenced the crowd and eliminated Barangay Ginebra, 112-108, in Game 4 to advance to the finals of the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup Friday at Ynares Center here.

Import Romeo Travis unleashed 50 points, 21 in the fourth, and 13 rebounds to help Magnolia dethrone the Gin Kings, who have ruled the third conference for two straight years.

The Hotshots recovered from their 107-103 loss in Game 3 and will face the winner in the other semifinals matchup between Alaska and Meralco.

READ: Magnolia nears finals, overcomes Ginebra

It took several pulsating moments for the Hotshots to finally  oust  the Gin Kings and it featured an irate Chito Victolero getting called for a technical foul after contesting an apparent goaltending violation on Justin Brownlee’s block on Paul Lee with 2:17 left to play.

Ginebra even took a 106-101 lead with 1:44 remaining in the game but the Hotshots showed their resolve in a time of dread.

Magnolia, with its heart filled with unbridled emotion, went on a heart-pounding 9-0 run to take a 110-106 lead after Jio Jalalon’s free throws with 23.7 seconds to play.

READ: Victolero stumped by freethrow disparity vs Ginebra 

“Our battle cry for this series is ‘believe’ and my players showed the courage, the determination, the hard work and it all paid off,” said Victolero who missed his son Charles’ seventh birthday.

“This is a great gift for him, for us, and for the Magnolia fans because this series was really emotional and we all learned from this.”

A major part of Magnolia’s late-game run was five clutch points from Travis including a three-point play with 44.1 seconds that pulled Hotshots ahead, 108-106.

READ: Paul Lee takes blame for letting Game 3 slip from Magnolia

Ian Sangalang added 14 points, six rebounds, and six assists to Magnolia’s cause while Paul Lee had 11 points including the game’s two final points from the free throw line.

Brownlee finished with 32 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists for Ginebra while Japeth Aguilar added 25 points and 14 boards.