By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Ian Sangalang recovered from a subpar showing to steer the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots to a 108-102 win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Tiaong Convention Center in Quezon province on Saturday night, April 20.
Sangalang, who was held to five points during Magnolia’s win over the Blackwater Bossing last April 17, posted a double-double of 25 points and 12 rebounds as the Hotshots notched their fourth consecutive win for a 6-2 win-loss slate.
Andy Mark Barroca added 18 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, Aris Dionisio tallied 13 points, while Jed Mendoza, Paul Lee and Joseph Eriobu had 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Magnolia.
Down by five after the opening quarter, the Hotshots turned things around in the second quarter behind inside conversions by Sangalang as they took their biggest lead at 60-45 early in the third period.
The Painters responded with a huge run as they cut the deficit to 92-96, but timely conversions from Sangalang, Mendoza and Barroca increased the Hotshots’ lead to 105-98 with less than a minute left.
Adrian Nocum top-scored with 19 points, Leonard Santillan added 17 markers, while Beau Belga, Gian Mamuyac and Andrei Caracut ended with 16, 14 and 12 points, respectively, as the Painters saw their four-game winning run snapped to drop to 5-5.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Fuel Masters (3-5) kept their quarterfinals aspirations alive after a dominant 112-77 win over the NLEX Road Warriors (5-3) at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
RJ Jazul drilled six three-point conversions to end up with 19 points. Rookie center Kenneth Tuffin and Rodolfo Alejandro, Jr. made their presence felt with 17 and 16 points, respectively, for the Fuel Masters.
“Simply out, we need a win. I’m very positive naman na things will start going our way. Let’s see, hopefully,” Fuel Masters head coach Michael Jay Jarin said in a post-game interview.
Enoch Valdez led the way with 16 points, Jhan Nermal added 12 markers, while Robert Bolick Jr., Anthony Semerad, Baser Amer, and Dominick Fajardo ended with 11 each as NLEX dropped to 5-3./ASC, WDJ