Magnolia routs NLEX for 6th spot in PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals
Credit to Author: JOSEF T. RAMOS, TMT| Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2019 12:31:15 +0000
MAGNOLIA routed Northern Luzon Expressway (NLEX), 102-74, to gain the 6th spot in the best-of-three quarterfinals of Season 44 of the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.
From a 46-30 cushion at the halftime break, the Hotshots didn’t relinquish their lead as they ended the elimination round with a 6-5 win-loss record. Magnolia will meet No. 3 Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the quarterfinals on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
“We achieved our goal which is to get the sixth spot,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero. “Our defense was a huge factor. Our goal was to limit NLEX to 90 points. If they scored 100 plus points, I guess they won. That’s our defensive plan, limit NLEX scoring.”
Paul Lee made mincemeat of the NLEX defense as he scored 26 points, including six triples, while Aldrech Ramos and Mark Barroca finished with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Ian Sangalang contributed 10 points and Jio Jalalon had eight points also for the Hotshots.
The NLEX loss gave Alaska a glimmer of hope of snatching the eighth spot by forcing a playoff.
The Road Warriors dropped to 4-7, tying Alaska for the 8th and 9th spots.
Scores:
Magnolia 102 – Lee 26, Ramos 15, Barroca 14, Sangalang 10, Jalalon 8, Herndon 6, Melton 5, Simon 5, Brondial 5, Reavis 2, Gamalinda 2, Pascual 2, Dela Rosa 2, Calisaan 0, Abundo 0.
NLEX 74 – Galanza 10, Ighalo 9, Tallo 8, Quiñahan 8, Erram 7, Rios 6, Paniamogan 6, Varilla 6, Magat 6, Soyud 4, Baguio 2, Lao 2, Tiongson 0, Taulava 0, Paredes 0.
Quarters: 20-16, 46-30, 77-54, 102-74.
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