MAGNOLIA continued to display a more polished game and asserted its mastery over Rain or Shine via a 109-98 victory yesterday in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Mike Harris notched 26 points, Calvin Abueva had 18 points and nine boards, and Jio Jalalon came off the bench for 14 points and 10 assists, but it was his players also executing on the other end of the court that pleased coach Chito Victolero as well.
“It started with our defense,” said Victolero. “We wanted to control the pace of the game. I told my players before this game that we need to have that mental toughness because we know this is (going to be) a very physical game.”
That familiarity over the same team it kicked out via a two-game sweep of their quarterfinals duel during the last Philippine Cup served Magnolia in good stead as it easily followed up its 114-87 drubbing of Terrafirma in the Hotshots’ tournament opener last Wednesday.
Their second win on Victolero’s 200th game at the Hotshots’ helm also primed them up for their Christmas Day meeting with Ginebra.
The final count does not truly reflect how Magnolia took command for majority of the game starting in the second quarter, when a balanced 14-4 run gave the team a 52-40 spread.
Norbert Torres and Javee Mocon led a fightback that brought Rain or Shine from a 48-55 halftime deficit to within 56-61, but Abueva, Harris and Jalalon starred during a 16-6 counter that jacked the lead to 77-62.
The difference got stretched to as much as 99-81 and the Hotshots took their feet slightly off the pedal, allowing the Elasto Painters to trim the gap before formally dropping to an even 2-2 slate.
In the end, Magnolia committed a franchise-low five turnovers while turning Rain or Shine’s 16 miscues into 14 points that further worked to the Hotshots’ favor.
“Hopefully, we’ll continue to play this kind of game,” said Victolero.
Henry Walker’s 23 points and six rebounds led the E-Painters, who also drew 23 points from Rey Nambatac and 20 from Mocon.
