Hotshots thwart import-less Batang Pier

MANILA, Philippines – The Magnolia Hotshots heated up just in time and dispatched the import-less NorthPort Batang Pier, 105-94, in the PBA Governors’ Cup action Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. 

The Batang Pier, who played without foreign reinforcement Venky Jois and wingman William Navarro, pushed Magnolia to the limit but ran out of steam late. 

Glenn Robinson III paced the Hotshots with 25 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks. Paul Lee added 20 points and 11 assists, while Zav Lucero finished with 16 markers and 12 boards against his former team.

With the game tied at 87 in the fourth quarter, Magnolia went on a scoring rampage while stopping NorthPort on their tracks. 

After a 3-pointer by Robinson and a putback by Lucero pushed the lead to five, 92-87, Sydney Onwubere retaliated with a deuce. 

A pair of free throws by Lee regained the five point spread, but Tolentino had a layup on the other end. 

Aris Dionisio, Lee and Robinson then teamed up and unleashed a 7-0 blitz as Magnolia mounted a 101-91 lead with 1:26 to go. 

Tolentino was fouled not two seconds later, but he split his freebies. A floater by Magnolia’s Lucero shut the door on any comeback attempt by NorthPort, 103-92, with 1:03 remaining. 

“On our end, maybe we kind of [relaxed] in the middle of that because on the first half, we had a hard time to execute, it’s all one fast shot and we didn’t move the ball very well and we didn't play defense,” Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero said. 

“That’s why on halftime, that’s the reminder. If we want to win this game, we need to play solid on both ends of the floor and yun, buti naman, kahit papaano nag-grind kami and we don’t shortcut anything,” he added. 

The two teams did not give an inch majority of the game, as they had six deadlocks and 14 lead changes. 

They also had near-identical shooting clips, with Magnolia making 41.5% of their field goals while NorthPort shot 42.2%. 

The huge difference was the 3-point shooting, with the Hotshots making 10-of-26 from rainbow country compared to the Batang Pier’s 4-of-19. 

Jerrick Ahanmisi and Calvin Abueva had 10 markers apiece for the winning team. 

Cade Flores had a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds for NorthPort. Joshua Munzon added 13, while Damie Cuntapay had 12. 

Magnolia rose to 3-2 in Group A, good for third spot. NorthPort dropped to 2-3, tied with the Converge FiberXers.