PBA: Magnolia shuts down Meralco for 5 straight wins

MANILA, Philippines—Magnolia continued its hot streak and took the light out of Meralco, 99-88, in the PBA Governors’ Cup Saturday at MVA City Coliseum in Zamboanga.

Mark Barroca, who hails from Zamboanga, had himself a homecoming with 21 points and seven assists spearheading the Hotshots to their fifth straight win to keep their hold of the third seed with a 5-2 record.

The Hotshots, who opened up their conference with two straight losses, tied league-leading TNT, which owns a 7-1 record, for the longest winning run at five matches.

Magnolia opened the floodgates early taking a 32-15 lead after the first quarter in what would become the foundation for their cruising win.

Mike Tolomia leveled the game at 12-all midway through the first quarter but that only sparked Magnolia to dig deep into its offensive arsenal and go on an 18-0 burst with Jio Jalalon’s jumper capping off the blitzkrieg for the Hotshots’ 30-12 lead with half a minute left in the period.

Magnolia’s biggest scare didn’t come in the form of a scoring outburst from the Bolts but when star guard Paul Lee fell to the floor in what looked like an ankle sprain.

Delroy James accidentally landed on Lee’s left foot that momentarily sent the bruising shooting guard to the bench with 10:21 to play.

Lee, though, returned to the game at the 5:31 mark finishing the game with 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting.

James Farr held the paint for the Hotshots with 19 points, 17 rebounds, and three blocks while Ian Sangalang had his own double-double of 11 points and 10 boards.

James led the ninth seed Bolts, who dropped to 3-6, with 35 points and 10 rebounds.