PBA: Veteran poise helps Magnolia stave off late Converge rally

Magnolia Hotshots’ Paul Lee against Converge FIberXers in the PBA Governors’ Cup. –PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—Magnolia turned to its winning experiences and veterans to stop Converge from notching a comeback win in Group A of the PBA Governors’ Cup.

On Friday at Araneta Coliseum, the Hotshots scraped past the FiberXers, 105-93, but not without a late game scare from coach Franco Atienza and company.

“In the last five minutes of the game we relaxed a bit. We thought we won already and we needed to address it. We can’t be that way. We need to be consistent on defense,” said coach Chito Victolero in Filipino.

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The Hotshots led by as much as 21 before the FiberXers mounted a comeback to cut the lead to five, 98-93, with 1:58 to go in the fourth quarter, courtesy of a triple from Kevin Racal.

Fortunately, Magnolia’s veterans showed up when it mattered the most with buckets from Ian Sangalang and Mark Barroca, much to the delight of fellow vet Paul Lee.

“I think it’s to our advantage that we have veterans in this group… We still trusted each other. I think it just came from our bond of many years,” said Lee after dropping 14 points, seven assists and four rebounds.

Victolero also lauded his veterans for stepping up to improve the Hotshots’ record to 1-1.

READ: PBA: Paul Lee, Magnolia nab first win after beating Converge

“In the crunch time, I rely on these guys because we’ve been together for a long time, we know when and where to go for the last or best possible shot,” said the veteran tactician.

However, even with the victory Lee reiterated that the Hotshots need to do better to avoid the late game mishap in future games.

“Even if we lead big, we should speed up our game and not slow down to avoid that happening again. We need more discipline.”

Magnolia looks to make it back-to-back wins on Thursday when the Hotshots face TNT at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.