Hotshots pummel Fuel Masters, arrange semis meeting with the Bolts
Top seed Magnolia took the easy route to the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals and found itself up for a grudge match with recent All-Filipino Final 4 rival Meralco.
A few hours after the Bolts slew giant San Miguel Beer, the Hotshots followed suit with their own quick work of the Phoenix Super LPG Hotshots, 127-88, to the delight of their faithful at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday.
Drawing a lot more grit and spunk on the return of Calvin Abueva, the Hotshots easily imposed themselves and fashioned out a dominant win to arrange a best-of-five semifinals versus the Bolts.
The two teams were also protagonists in the Philippine Cup semis, with the Hotshots prevailing in six games of a best-of-seven affair.
“Pahinga muna kami for one day before starting the preparation. Hindi ko pa alam kung papaano,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero.
They were so focused on the Fuel Masters that they jumped the gun on them, sprinting away right in the opening quarter and leading by as many as 45 in what’s easily the most lopsided game in the league in a long, long while.
A solid defensive job and a great display of shooting had them tearing Phoenix apart and making them the sixth casualty after Blackwater, Terrafirma, Rain or Shine, NorthPort and San Miguel Beer.
“Credit to the players; they prepared hard and executed it on the floor. Nagsimula sa depensa; we controlled and minimized the effectiveness of Matthew Wright and Jason Perkins,” said Victolero.
“We played Magnolia basketball, at gaya ng laging sinasabi ni coach kapag ginusto natin, maganda ang kinakalabasan,” said Paul Lee, the lead gun in a well-spread attack finishing with 25 points with 5-of-7 shooting.
The scores:
Magnolia 127 ā Lee 25, Barroca 18, Jalalon 15, Harris 15, Abueva 12, Sangalang 11, Wong 11, Dela Rosa 10, Dionisio 5, Ahanmisi 3, Reavis 2, Brill 0, Corpuz 0, Escoto 0.
Phoenix Super LPG 88 ā Maxwell 32, Perkins 11, Garcia 10, Wright 8, Melecio 7, Jazul 7, Robles 6, Pascual 4, Demusis 3, Manganti 0, Camacho 0, Rios 0, Porter 0.
Quarterscores: 34-20; 66-46; 102-67; 127-88.
