Hotshots rally to take opener vs Beermen

MANILA, Philippines — Magnolia patiently worked its way back from a hard-to-bridge 20-point gap, then beat out a weary San Miguel Beer side in the clutch for a 105-103 shocker in the opener of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Ian Sangalang and rookie Rob Herndon fueled their amazing rally and Rafi Reavis provided support on the defensive end in the closing seconds as the Hotshots pulled off a first win over the Beermen in a long, long while.

“First win, and it took a great effort by the team from 20 points down in the third period. They didn’t give up. They showed the character we’ve built from our previous playoff stints,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero.

“It’s about defense in the second half. (The Beermen) exploded for 63 points in the first half, and that’s because we didn’t play our (defensive) game. At the half, I told the guys we would need to limit them to 20 per quarter, and we did that,” Victolero also said. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to sustain the effort next game.”

Game Two is at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow over at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.

Sangalang scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter while Herndon fired two big treys to highlight an eight-point explosion also in the final canto.

From 20 points down at 52-72, the Hotshots pulled even at 97-all then surged ahead to stay at 105-103 on two free throws by Sangalang.

SMB threw the full weight of its super starting five, but the ploy seemed to backfire in the end.

Curiously, June Mar Fajardo, Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter, Arwind Santos and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser combined for all but one of SMB’s output. The Magnolia bench, for their part, clobbered their SMB counterparts, 47-1.

“Maybe, that’s the reason,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.

The scores:

Magnolia 105 – Sangalang 29, Ramos 15, Barroca 14, Dela Rosa 11, Herndon 8, Jalalon 7, Reavis 6, Pascual 5, Lee 4, Melton 0, Simon 0, Brondial 0.

San Miguel 103 – Fajardo 31, Cabagnot 27, Lassiter 21, Santos 19, Rosser 4, Ross 1, Pessumal 0, Espinas 0, De Ocampo 0.

Quarterscores: 25-33, 47-63, 75-89, 105-103.