The Magnolia Hotshots bounced back from a tough defeat to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel with a 120-101 rout of the importless San Miguel Beermen on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. With the win, Magnolia improved to 3-4 in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, while the Beermen, who missed the services of import Justin Patton, dropped to the same record.
What Happened?
Magnolia, specifically Clint Chapman, pounced on the importless Beermen right away, building a 30-22 first-quarter lead thanks to Chapman’s 11 points in the opening 12 minutes. San Miguel, though, showed some fight in the second frame, as Marcio Lassiter and Cjay Perez helped the Beermen keep pace with the Hotshots with a 28-28 second quarter to enter halftime down by only eight, 58-50.
San Miguel’s import situation finally reared its ugly head in the third, with the Hotshots going off for another 34 points while holding the Beermen to 22 to extend the lead, 92-72, going into the final canto. Without an import, the Beermen just didn’t have any fight left in them as they traded baskets with Magnolia en route to the final score.
Who Stood Out?
After being bothered by a stomach issue in Magnolia’s loss to Ginebra, Chapman looked fit again as he carved up San Miguel to the tune of 34 points on an ultra-efficient 10-for-14 shooting. He also had 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. Jerom Lastimosa also had a strong game, finishing with 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting, along with 2 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Beermen, in contrast, looked listless on Sunday even as five players scored in double figures. The best of the lot was Perez, who had 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists but was just 6-for-18 from the field.
3 Keys to the Game
- Import situation. While it isn’t impossible to win without an import, it was clear San Miguel was adversely affected by Patton not showing up. Without him, Chapman pretty much did whatever he wanted, while the rest of the Hotshots looked energized as well.
- Hot shooting. The Hotshots got hot from the field on Sunday, as they made over half of their shots for a scintillating 58.6% clip. Crucially, they went 10-for-19 from downtown while hitting 30 of 50 attempts from two-point range. In contrast, San Miguel shot 45% overall but was just 7-for-21 from three-point range.
- Ball movement. Part of the reason the Hotshots shot so well was they moved the ball around, resulting in easy looks inside and out. In the end, Magnolia dished out 36 assists, with Mark Barroca handing out a game-high 7 dimes, Paul Lee issuing 7, and Lastimosa adding 6.
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