Magnolia snaps 3-game slide, routs Columbian behind Romeo Travis

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MANILA, Philippines—Magnolia put a halt to its three-game slide at the expense of hard-fighting Columbian, 118-103, Sunday night in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

Romeo Travis fired a team-best 28 points while Ian Sangalang tossed in 24 points for the Hotshots, who had three more starters chipping in at least 10 points.

“He was just 60 percent against Ginebra. Now, he’s around 85, 90 percent. Despite of that, he was still able to give us something pleasant and assert his leadership inside,” Magnolia coach Chito Victolero said of his import, who played through an ankle injury.

Columbian drew 28 points from rookie CJ Perez and 26 from Khapri Alston. Skipper Rashawn McCarthy and Juami Tiongson also scored in double-digits with 18 and 13 points, respectively.

Magnolia, which improved to 4-4, takes over the sixth place which was previously held by Columbian. Both spots will be in a twice-to-win predicament in the playoffs.

The Hotshots plunge into a long break before facing Phoenix. They take on NLEX, and then league-leading TNT next.

The Dyip, who are now 4-5, go up against Meralco next. They wrap up their elimination round campaign against crowd darling Barangay Ginebra.

The scores:

Magnolia 118 – Travis 28, Sangalang 24, Jalalon 19, Dela Rosa 16, Barroca 10, Pingris 8, Herndon 6, Lee 5, Pascual 2, Melton 0.

Columbian 103 – Perez 28, Alston 26, McCarthy 18, Tiongson 13, Cahilig 6, Corpuz 5, Khobuntin 5, Calvo 2, Faundo 0.

Quarterscores: 27-29, 61-52, 88-76, 118-103.