The PBA Commissioner’s Cup ended another week with a double-header, again at Ynares Center. Both games had playoff implications but ended up as blowouts. Here’s what happened:
Magnolia Crushes Eastern, Keeps Quarters Bid Alive
In need of a win, the Magnolia Hotshots played arguably their best game in the conference in drubbing Hong Kong Eastern, 107-78, to stay in contention for a PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals berth.
Ricardo Ratliffe’s efficient 25 point, 16 rebound-effort led the Hotshots, who began asserting their will in the second canto and went to intermission with a 70-51 cushion. They never looked back, drawing big games from Zavier Lucero (20 points), Jerom Lastimosa (20), and Ian Sangalang (14) to cruise to the all-important victory.
Chris McLaughlin put up his own gallant stand with 20 points and 10 rebounds but was no match for Magnolia’s smothering defense and heavy firepower. In all, Eastern shot a measly 31-for-70 from the field and committed 21 turnovers.
With the win, the Hotshots moved to 5-6, in a tie with the NLEX Road Warriors for the eighth and last spot in the quarters. The loss moved Eastern to 7-4 and into a tie with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
The scores:
Magnolia (107) – Ratliffe 25, Lastimosa 20, Lucero 20, Sangalang 14, Barroca 11, Dela Rosa 8, Abueva 5, Alfaro 4, Lee 0, Dionisio 0, Laput 0
Eastern (78) – McLaughlin 20, Yang 14, Lam 13, Cao 9, Blankley 9, Guinchard 4, Cheung 3, Pok 3, Chan 2, Zhu 1, Xu 0
Up next:
Magnolia vs. Meralco Bolts on January 31 (PhilSports Arena)
Eastern vs. NLEX on January 29 (Smart Araneta Coliseum)
TNT Dominates San Miguel, Moves Closer to Twice-to-Beat Advantage
Make it two blowouts in a row for the TNT Tropang Giga after the reigning PBA Governors’ Cup champs blew out the San Miguel Beermen, 115-97, to boost their bid for a twice-to-beat incentive. The rout follows TNT’s demolition of the Phoenix Fuel Masters a game earlier.
The Tropa turned what was expected to be a tight contest into a laugher in the second, when they built a 17-point lead entering halftime. They turned it up even more in the third to cruise to their eighth win in eleven games.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson was stellar as usual, dropping 35 points, 21 rebounds, and 10 assists to go along with three steals and 1 block. RR Pogoy and Calvin Oftana added 22 and 16, respectively, and combined for eight triples. Jayson Castro and JP Erram chipped in 14 apiece in TNT’s dominant display. June Mar Fajardo carried the fight for the Beermen with 34 points and 13 rebounds.
With the win, TNT now has an inside track to the top two seeds. San Miguel, on the other hand, fell outside the magic circle and will have to hope Magnolia and NLEX lose their final assignments.
Up next:
NLEX vs. Hong Kong Eastern on January 29 (Smart Araneta Coliseum)
Rain or Shine vs. TNT Tropang Giga on January 31 (PhilSports Arena)
The Scores:
TNT (115) – Hollis-Jefferson 35, Pogoy 22, Oftana 16, Castro 14, Erram 14, Nambatac 6, Williams 6, Galinato 2, Heruela 0, Khobuntin 0, Razon 0, Exciminiano 0
San Miguel (97) – Fajardo 34, Trollano 13, Pope 10, Tautuaa 10, Lassiter 9, Perez 9, Cruz 6, Ross 3, Tiongson 3, Cahilig 0, Rosales 0
PBA Commissioner’s Cup: Next on Tap
The PBA Commissioner’s Cup will take a break for two days. It will continue on Wednesday with a blockbuster double-header featuring NLEX and Eastern in the first game and Ginebra and Meralco in the second game. The games will be played at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
