Crippled hotshots buck odds

MANILA, Philippines — Injury woes and suspension to key players only strengthened Magnolia’s resolve as the undermanned Hotshots doubled their efforts to post a 95-77 rout of Phoenix in the PBA Philippine Cup yesterday at the MOA Arena.

Amid the sidelining of gunners Paul Lee (back spasm) and Jerrick Ahanmisi (sprained ankle) and the one-game ban of Calvin Abueva, veteran Mark Barroca put winds in the sails of Magnolia with his 21-point, six-assist, five-steal outing.

Aris Dionisio (career-high 19), Jio Jalalon (15), Jackson Corpuz (14) and Ian Sangalang (14) were similarly ready to step up to the plate and together helped the Hotshots seize the wire-to-wire triumph that catapulted them to the middle of the standings at 3-3.

“Wala si Paul, wala si Jerrick, wala si Calvin. Next-man-up ang team mentality namin ngayon. Just fight kung sino’ng available now. We don’t want na maging hindrance ito (manpower shortage) para ipanalo ang game,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero.

The personnel troubles worsened game time when Rome dela Rosa suffered a cut at the back of his head after a collision with Sean Manganti, exiting with still 11:48 left in the final canto.

Later, Barangay Ginebra gave coach Tim Cone a nice sendoff before his Miami Heat stint in the NBA Summer League, taking down erstwhile unbeaten San Miguel, 75-72, to wrest the lead at 4-1.

Christian Standhardinger scattered 20 markers, including the go-ahead layup, plus 10 boards, five dimes and four steals to take the cudgels in Cone’s last game before leaving for the US on Tuesday.