WITH the newly-arrived Jabari Bird making an immediate impact, Magnolia soared to a 121-69 blowout of Rain or Shine to make it a tied PBA Governors' Cup quarterfinal series at 1-1 Friday in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
Bird, the fourth foreign reinforcement to take the mantle after Glenn Robinson III, Shabazz Muhammad and Rayvonte Rice, logged 22 points on a 10-of-15 clip, 13 rebounds and two assists with only one turnover in his PBA debut as he gave Hotshots the wings for the equalizer on the road.
But more than Bird's statline, Magnolia got a lot on his positive aura.
"He's a big factor tonight," said coach Chito Victolero of the 6-foot-4 American, whose father Carl reinforced Royal Tru Orange back in 1976 and even scored a high of 73.
"It's not the numbers but it's all about the aura, the positive vibes of Jabari. I told him we just need his contribution on the little things - defense rebounding and positive energy which is naibigay naman niya sa amin in this game," he added.
Sponsored content:
Victolero's local troops took the cue and did their part in pulling Magnolia even after the Elasto Painters won the series opener, 109-105.
Calvin Abueva and Mark Barroca churned out double-double performances of 18-10 and 11-10, respectively, even as Ian Sangalang (12 points), Rome dela Rosa (11-8) and Joseph Eriobu (11) helped out offensively.
"Na-appareciate ko ang locals namin very proud and grateful of them. Hindi sila nag-give up even though we're having some problems with our import," said Victolero.
The Hotshots ripped Game 2 apart with a 32-5 barrage in the second quarter, pouncing on the absence of ROS' anchor inside, Aaron Fuller.
Fuller left the game with 30 seconds left in the first period after getting poked in the left eye that led to swelling and blurry vision. He logged four points, four rebounds and two assists in his abbreviated 11-minute stint.
Sponsored content:
Without their top inside operator and rebounder, the Elasto Painters badly lost the battle of the boards, 67-37, and inside scoring, 78-25. Further hastening their fall was the horrible 23-of-82 (28 percent) shooting they had against the Magnolia defense.
In forcing the deadlock with this 52-point romp, the Hotshot posted their second biggest winning margin in franchise history and also the second largest of all time by any team in the PBA playoffs, next only to Star's 126-73 rout of Globalport in the 2015 Governors' Cup Last-8.
Adrian Nocum shot 13 for ROS, which is keeping its fingers crossed that Fuller will be good to go for the Game 3 tiebreaker on Sunday over at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. (OL)
The Scores :
MAGNOLIA 121 - Bird 22, Abueva 18, Sangalang 12, Barroca 11, Eriobu 11, Dela Rosa 11, Dionisio 9, Lucero 9, Mendoza 7, Laput 4, Lee 4, Balanza 2, Reavis 1, Alfaro 0, Ahanmisi 0, Escoto 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 69 - Nocum 13, Lemetti 11, Asistio 7, Datu 7, Clarito 6, Santillan 6, Mamuyac 5, Tiongson 5, Fuller 4, Belga 4, Caracut 1, Escandor 0, Borboran 0, 0, Ildefonso 0, Villegas 0, Norwood 0.
QUARTERS : 34-23, 66-28, 88-49, 121-69
