MANILA, Philippines – Magnolia pulled off a 101-97 win over San Miguel in the final elimination round game of the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, July 7, but still found itself in a tough situation heading into the playoffs. 

Needing at least a 14-point win to avoid squaring off with a team toting a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals, the Hotshots, despite improving to 6-5, will face second-seed Alaska Aces. 

Magnolia and San Miguel wound up with identical records but the Beermen secured a superior quotient to occupy 6th place. 

Wayne Chism delivered 21 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists while Ian Sangalang chalked up 14 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and two steals but Magnolia fell short of its target, leading only by as much as 8 points throughout. 

But, if it’s any consolation, Magnolia hopes to bank on the momentum it gained from the two-game winning streak entering the quarterfinals.

“Very happy pa rin doon sa panalo ’cause it affords us momentum going to the playoffs,” said Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero.

(I’m still very happy with the win because it affords us momentum going to the playoffs.) 

“We just tried to achieve ‘yung goal naming maka-14. But then again, kung ‘di naman namin ma-achieve ‘yon, okay lang kasi panalo naman kami. It carries naman sa playoffs itong game na ’to.”

(We just tried to achieve our goal of winning by 14. But then again, even if we did not achieve that, we will still take the win. After all, this win carries over in the playoffs.) 

Paul Lee delivered 14 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds, Mark Barroca chipped in 11 points, 4 assists and 3 steals and Robbie Herndon added 10 points in the win. 

Renaldo Balkman finished with an all-around effort of 31 points, 8 rebounds, 6 blocks, 4 assists and 3 steals for the Beermen, who will face the TNT KaTropa in a best-of-3 series.

June Mar Fajardo added 18 points and 12 rebounds, Arwind Santos and Marcio Lassiter chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Alex Cabagnot messed with a triple-double of 9 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists in the loss. 

The Scores:

Magnolia (101): Chism 21, Lee 14, Sangalang 14, Barroca 11, Herndon 10, Jalalon 9, Melton 8, Brondial 5, Dela Rosa 4, Simon 3, Gamalinda 2, Reavis 0, Ramos 0

San Miguel (97): Balkman 31, Fajardo 18, Santos 13, Lassiter 12, Ross 9, Cabagnot 9, Nabong 5, Rosser 0, Heruela 0

Quarter scores: 29-27, 45-44, 78-76, 101-97

– Rappler.com