Hotshots rout Bolts to draw first blood in PBA semis

Games Friday (Mall of Asia Arena)
3 p.m. – Ginebra vs NLEX (Semis, Game 2)
6 p.m. – Magnolia vs Meralco (Hotshots lead series, 1-0)

MANILA, Philippines – Magnolia cut off Meralco’s power source in the second half to run away with a 94-80 romp and seize a 1-0 lead in the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinal series Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

After trailing by as many as 17, the Hotshots shifted to high gear defensively after the break to make a complete turnaround and gain the upperhand in the short race-to-three affair.

“Very slow start kami and I told my players if we can’t match the intensity and aggressiveness of Meralco, we’ll have a hard time winning this game. And I’m proud nag-step up sila and started playing Magnolia basketball and got more aggressive defensively,” said Hotshots coach Chito Victolero.

The top-seeded Hotshots held the Bolts to 13 points on a measly 5-of-15 shooting (33.3%) in the third quarter to wrest control and transform an eight-point deficit into a eight-point lead.

“It all started with our defense. We limited them (Bolts) to our target, which is 80-below, and magandang depensa ang pinakita namin noong second half,” said Victolero after choking the Bolts to their lowest score of the tournament.

The bulk of the defensive effort was focused on Meralco import Tony Bishop, whom the Hotshots held to his conference-low of 10 points on a 5-of-19 field goal shooting. It was a far cry from Bishop's 32-point outburst in their 100-85 quarterfinal rout of San Miguel Beer.

“We knew talagang he contributes a lot to their offense, especially yung shooting niya, so we have a defensive scheme against Bishop,” said Victolero.

Magnolia import Mike Harris delivered as usual for Magnolia and scattered 26 points, 16 rebounds and four assists. Jio Jalalon contributed 15 with six boards and six dimes while Paul Lee and Calvin Abueva chipped in 13 and 12, respectively.

With Bishop shackled, Chris Banchero took the scoring cudgels for Meralco with 16.

The Bolts got off to a rousing start with Bong Quinto and backup big Noy Baclao spearheading an 18-4 salvo bridging the first and second cantos en route to a 33-16 tear.

The scores:

Magnolia 94 – Harris 26, Jalalon 15, Lee 13, Abueva 12, Barroca 9, Dionisio 7, Dela Rosa 6, Wong 5, Sangalang 1, Reavis 0, Brill 0, Corpuz 0.

Meralco 80 – Banchero 16, Quinto 13, Bishop 10, Newsome 8, Maliksi 7, Black 7, Baclao 6, Hodge 5, Almazan 4, Caram 2, Hugnatan 2, Jose 0.

Quarterscores: 12-22, 35-43, 64-56, 94-80.