Magnolia Hotshots’ Ian Sangalang.–PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–Playing with steely nerves when it mattered most, Magnolia held off red-hot Rain or Shine for a 108-102 victory while preserving its own winning streak in the PBA Philippine Cup Saturday night.
The Hotshots kept it together in the final period of the clash at Tiaong Convention Center in Quezon to claim their fourth straight victory and improve to 5-2.
SCHEDULE: 2024 PBA Philippine Cup
Ian Sangalang was solid once again, scoring 25 points and 12 rebounds–his efforts were kept by Mark Barroca and Paul Lee who finished with 18 and 11 points, respectively, as Chito Victolero and his crew kept their spot behind league-leading and unbeaten sister team San Miguel.
The Elastopainters, who were on a five-game winning tear going into the duel, pulled within six, 105-99, behind an Adrian Nocum layup with 25 seconds remaining.
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But a Lee freebie and the Hotshots’ poise refused to waver in the stand that sent Yeng Guiao’s squad to a 5-5 win-loss mark in the standings.
Nocum, a rookie, led Rain or Shine with 19 points. Santi Santilla and Beau Belga finished with at least 16 points each while Gian Mamuyac and Andrei Caracut delivered twin-digit scores in the club’s penultimate assignment in the elimination phase.
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Magnolia will have a chance to tighten its grip on the top two spots with matches against San Miguel, Meralco, Terrafirma, and TNT still on tap.
Rain or Shine, meanwhile, wrap up their schedule against NLEX which recently fell to Phoenix in a nasty 112-77 rout in Pasig City earlier on Saturday evening.