Hotshots stymie Dyip for winning start in PBA Commissioner’s Cup

MANILA, Philippines – The Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots avoided an upset at the hands of the Terrafirma Dyip, winning their conference opener 100-92 in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday.

Despite squandering a 15-point lead in the second half, reinforcement Nicholas Rakocevic came up big with 45 points and 25 rebounds to tow Magnolia to victory in the fourth salvo.

A streaking Terrafirma opened the final period with a 17-6 run to flip the script on Magnolia and gain a two-point advantage, 88-64, after some free throws by import Lester Prosper.

But the Hotshots answered back with five straight points to regain the lead.

Though the teams went tit-for-tat until the 2:59 mark of the game where Prosper hit a jump shot to put the Dyip in front, 92-91, Magnolia scored one final 9-0 burst to finish the game and come away with the win.

Rakocevic punctuated the run with a dunk to push their lead to eight with 32 seconds left on the clock.

Jio Jalalon and Ian Sangalang paced the effort from the locals with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, the loss for Terrafirma soured a monster double-double from Prosper as he finished with 41 points and 19 boards.

Juami Tiongson added 19 points off the bench.

The Hotshots play the Converge FiberXers next on Saturday as they look for a 2-0 start, while the Dyip look to avoid a 0-3 hole when they face the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Sunday.

Both weekend games will tip off at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.