Magnolia forces PBA Governors’ Cup semis decider, routs Meralco in gritty affair

MANILA, Philippines – The Magnolia Hotshots lived to fight another day in the 2022 PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals as they forced a deciding Game 5 against the Meralco Bolts, 94-73, at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, March 30.

With the win, the series now goes to a closeout showdown on Friday, April 1, 6 pm, as the Hotshots – who recovered after losing back-to-back against the Bolts – try to clinch a finals berth.

Best Import candidate Mike Harris continued to push his case for the award with a 34-point, 18-rebound double-double on an elite 16-of-22 clip, while Paul Lee added 17 off the bench despite a hurting left ankle.

Calvin Abueva also provided a much-needed spark as he finished with 11 markers built off a 9-of-12 clip from the free throw line, plus 8 boards and a staggering plus-minus of +39 in just under 26 minutes.

After eating up a 0-11 start straight from tipoff, Magnolia quickly recovered with an 18-5 fightback for the 18-16 lead, and actually never looked back from there.

As Magnolia enjoyed a double-digit lead for a majority of the second and third quarters, Meralco finally woke up in the fourth, and inched within six, 67-73, off an Allein Malksi triple at the 5:33 mark.

However, that was as near as the Bolts would get after Lee and Abueva ignited a huge 17-1 finishing kick that ballooned the gap to 22, 90-68, with just 2:17 left in regulation.

“No more tomorrow, that’s the mentality,” said head coach Chito Victolero. “We just tried to lead one game at a time, and we just talked about grinding it out possession by possession.”

“We kind of lost the joy of playing in the last two games, so those are the keys right now, grinding it out, and enjoying the game.”

Meralco import Tony Bishop paced the loss with 22 points in 7-of-17 shooting on top of 16 rebounds. Chris Newsome was the only other Bolt in double-digit scoring with 11, while Maliksi and the ailing Chris Banchero were held to just 7 points apiece.

As both teams continue to tough it out amid their physical semis wars, reigning conference champion Barangay Ginebra now awaits the series victor from the other side of the bracket after eliminating the NLEX Road Warriors in four games.