Hotshots roll into last 8

ANTIPOLO, Philippines — With yet another successful handling of a do-or-die game, fired-up Magnolia rolled into the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals.

Sustaining the momentum from their hat trick of wins to end the eliminations, the Hotshots outdueled NLEX in the KO for eighth spot, 112-81, to complete the Final-8 cast last night at the Ynares Center here.

From nearly given up for dead at 3-6, the resurgent Hotshots now set themselves up for a showdown with No. 1 and twice-to-beat NorthPort in the next stage.

“I told the players all the struggles, mistakes, injuries, frustrations of the past, it all boiled down to this game,” said coach Chito Victolero. “The players embraced the challenge. Iyung kanilang grit, determination and perseverance lumabas lahat sa larong ito.”

Ricardo Ratliffe, repaying Victolero for sticking with him despite a shoulder injury early in the campaign, dropped 32 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in leading Magnolia to a franchise streak of 19 consecutive playoffs appearances.

Ratliffe worked hard on defense, too, and held NLEX counterpart Mike Watkins to 10 in this death match.

Zav Lucero (14), Ian Sangalang (13), Rome Dela Rosa (13) and Mark Barroca (11) also delivered for the Hotshots.

Robert Bolick took the scoring cudgels with 27 for NLEX, which rallied from a similar 3-6 hole but fell short.

After wiping out an 11-point deficit early on, the Hotshots unleashed a 66-37 storm in the second half to rip the game apart and set the tone for the quarterfinal clincher.

“Our battle cry in the second half was to stick to our strength, our defense. We wanted to make them (NLEX) have a hard time executing their offense,” said Victolero.