By Adrian Stewart Co

The Magnolia Hotshots prevented complications heading into the quarterfinals after their 102-74 manhandling of the NLEX Road Warriors in the 2019 Honda PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Hotshots immediately imposed its presence as baskets from Paul Lee, Jio Jalalon, and Rome dela Rosa gave them an 18-10 lead.

The Road Warriors got as close as 31-27 but triples by Lee and Justin Melton gave the Hotshots a 46-30 halftime lead.

The Hotshots did not allow the Road Warriors to come close in the second half as conversions from Andy Mark Barroca and Lee gave them their largest lead of 31 points following a triple by Peter June Simon.

Lee finished the match with 26 points, including six triples; while Ramos and Barroca added 15 and 14 markers, respectively.

With the lopsided victory, the 6-5 Hotshots secured the sixth seed in the quarterfinals and will face third-ranked Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in a best-of-three series./ASC, WDJ