PAUL Lee and Calvin Abueva formed a lethal duo coming off the bench versus a depleted Blackwater side, leading Magnolia to a seventh straight win, an 8-3 closing mark in the elims and the third seed in the PBA Philippine Cup playoffs that fire off Sunday.
Lee scattered 22 points, including five three-pointers while Abueva came through with a double-double game with 15 markers and 10 boards as the Hotshots drubbed the Bossing, 75-66, in the windup of the single-round-robin elims Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Hotshots caught up with the TNT Tropang Giga and the Barangay Ginebra Kings at second place with their identical 8-3 cards.
Eventually ending up as the third seed upon the implementation of the quotient tiebreak, Magnolia is pitted versus No. 6 NLEX in one of the two best-of-three quarter pairings.
The other race-to-two-games series will feature old rivals Barangay Ginebra and Meralco, which wound up No. 4 and No. 5, respectively, in the elims.
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With five straight losses, Blackwater fell to No. 8 and will thus face twice-to-beat top seed San Miguel Beer. No. 2 TNT Tropang Giga goes up against No. 7 Converge.
"Second time pa lang ata na lumaro kami with a complete lineup. Maganda nito pupunta kami sa playoffs na kumpleto at merong momentum. Yun nga lang lalaro na agad kami sa Linggo," said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero.
Early on, the Hotshots struggled badly against the Bossing, needing some halftime tongue-lashing to regroup, refocus, and eventually got into the groove on the way to preserving their hot streak.
"First half, talagang struggle kami, kaya napagalitan pa at nasermonan," said Abueva.
"Second half, nalaro namin ang pace namin. Ako nakapag-isip sa third quarter at bumalik ang focus sa laro," added Abueva, who gained the Best Player of the Game honors that he dedicated to his son who turned a year older on this day.
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While the Hotshots finally enjoyed their full roster, the Bossing endured the injuries that sidelined big men Yousef Taha and James Sena.
Bryan Ganuelas-Rosser paced the Bossing with 12 markers on top of seven rebounds, two steals and one block. (SB)
The Scores:
Magnolia 75 - Lee 22, Abueva 15, Sangalang 8, Dionisio 7, Corpuz 7, Jalalon 4, Barroca 4, Wong 4, Ahanmisi 2, Dela Rosa 2, Reavis 0.
Blackwater 66 - Ganuelas-Rosser 12, Suerte 8, Casio 7, Escoto 7, Ular 6, Amer 6, McCarthy 5, Dyke 5, Ayonayon 5, Melton 2, Go 2, Publico 1, Ebona 0.
Quarters: 13-15, 27-32, 49-49, 75-66
