Magnolia plays cool, sends series to the limit

Magnolia Ice Cream displayed grace under pressure to eke out a thrilling 61-57 victory over Rain or Shine in overtime yesterday and force a deciding Game 5 in the PBL Heroes Cup at the San Andres Gym.

RJ Rizada scored five of his 15 points in OT, including a pair of lay-ups in the last 32 seconds that sealed the crucial victory for the Wizards, who thus leveled their best-of-five duel to two games apiece after dropping the first two games.

With momentum clearly on its side, Magnolia tries to become the first team to bounce back from a 0-2 deficit in a five-game series since Dr. J Alcohol did the feat over Tanduay Gold in 1998 with a third straight win over Rain or Shine on Thursday.

"We just know how to handle the pressure at this time," said Magnolia coach Koy Banal, who had to rush minutes later to the Astrodome to assist the Purefoods coaching staff in its game against Red Bull in the ongoing PBA Finals.

So cool, steady and determined were the Wizards that they ignored the game of the Elasto Painters, which bordered on "dirty" plays.

Banal pointed to Jojo Tangkay, the reigning MVP, whom he said hit and bloodied Arwind Santos’ nose.

"I saw him (Tangkay) hit Arwind in the nose. He’s acting like he’s not an MVP," said Banal in Filipino. Tangkay also slapped Santos in the face in an 80-70 Game 3 win by Magnolia last Thursday.

Tangkay scored a game high 18 points but Santos had the last laugh as he drained two foul shots in the dying seconds to seal the Wizards’ win.

Rain or Shine actually had all the chances to wrap up the series.

Up 57-55 with 1.13 to go, the Elasto Painters made some poor shot selections and two crucial turnovers that resulted in a breakaway lay-up by Rizada as the Wizards seized control for good.

The Wellbest-owned franchise was also ahead, 46-43, with exactly two minutes remaining in regulation. But Magnolia countered with a 5-2 exchange on a triple and two foul shots by Santos to force the overtime.

Controlling the tempo with tough defense, the Wizards led all throughout the first half, thanks to Kelly Williams, who had six points, nine rebounds and three shot blocks during the period.

Gerard Jones, starting for the second straight game in place of Santos, chipped in five points. The former FEU standout had eight points in Game 3.