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Taking over from Paul Lee, Ian Sangalang put in a great performance and led Magnolia to an 83-76 victory over NorthPort last night in the PBA Philippine Cup at the AUF Sports Arena powered by Smart 5G technology in Angeles City.
Resisting nagging back pain, Sangalang scattered 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds with a pair of decisive plays late in the game that helped the Hotshots to their fifth straight win and a 6-4 scorecard overall.
Lee averaged 29 points in Magnolia’s last three games, but took part of the day off when he scored just 14 this time. But he still contributed heavily with eight assists, the most in the game.
Earlier, Rain or Shine got back on track with an 82-71 win over Blackwater and reduced the number of teams in contention for the last eight.
Javee Mocon had a great comeback game with 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Elasto Painters as they emerged from a three-game slide and entered the thick of the fight for a place in the quarterfinals with a score of 5. -4.
The loss was Blackwater’s sixth in a row as they fell to a 2-7 record and were left out of the competition for the quarterfinals along with NorthPort and Terrafirma as they all cannot reach all five wins.
After playing four games in five days, Magnolia is taking a break before wrapping up eliminations against Blackwater on Wednesday, needing to win to avoid complications and secure a berth in the quarterfinals.
The loss was NorthPort’s fourth straight and eighth in nine games overall, despite Christian Standhardinger notching another powerful performance with 18 points and 17 rebounds.
Kevin Ferrer also scored 18 points for Batang Pier, whose charge from a 20-point deficit lost steam on the stage.
“I took on the responsibility of stepping forward to manalo sa game na ito,” said Mocon, who had just 13 points in those three straight losses, but this time he made all nine of his shots from inside the arc.
“Kasi is crucial, if we want to reach the quarterfinals,” Mocon added.
Coach Caloy Garcia was simply relieved that his team managed to find ways to win.
“Credit to the players. That three-game losing streak began to mount the pressure. I told them we lost the enjoyment of the game… maybe we had some doubts because we are not taking any shots, ”Garcia said.
“So we focused on shooting during practice and I told them to just put in the last three Kasi pure kami games in a row.”
Rain or Shine’s last two games are against TNT tomorrow and Phoenix Super LPG the next day.
E-Painters may also have to participate in those battles without three key players.
With James Yap already out of the Blackwater game due to a calf injury, Rey Nambatac also sprained his right ankle early in the second period, while Beau Belga was also injured in the final four minutes.
Good thing Rain or Shine still maintained their offensive rhythm and still made the necessary stops at the end.
Mac Belo’s 15 points set the pace for the elite, who still tried to fight despite falling behind by up to 20 points, but still fell short.
