Magnolia fights from 22 down to stun NLEX for their first PH Cup win

It was worth the seven month wait for Magnolia to get their first win in the PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday evening, after fighting back from a huge hole to stun hard-luck NLEX 103-100 at the AUF Arena in Pampanga.

Banking on the solid contributions from their second unit and clutch shooting down the stretch, the Hotshots of Chito Victolero also rode on luck as three Road Warriors fouled out to go even at 1-1 after they drop their opener against San MIguel last March.

The backcourt tandem of Chris Banchero and Jio Jalalon made immense contributions for Magnolia coming off the bench, as it became an integral point in which they scored a total of 55 in the game, nine more than NLEX's reserves in the process.

Paul Lee backstopped their duo with 18 points, none bigger than his go-ahead four-point play with 32 seconds remaining, with Mark Barroca scoring the last two of his 13 points from the stripe to seal the win.

Kiefer Ravena would like to trade his game-high 27 points for a win, in which his triple gave NLEX their largest lead at 22, 70-48 in the third before Magnolia put up a 22-8 reply to pull themselves within single digits heading into the final frame.

That's where disaster struck for the Road Warriors, with their lack of discipline cost them with JR Quinahan (16 pts, 8 rebs, 4/7 3pt) and Kevin Alas (18 pts, 6/14 fg) failed to finish the game due to fouls, with Ravena seeing his last-ditch try to send the game to overtime clanked the rim as NLEX went down to 0-2 alongside Alaska.

The scores:

Magnolia 103 -- Banchero 19, Jalalon 19, Lee 18, Barroca 13, Sangalang 9, Corpuz 9, Dionisio 8, Dela Rosa 4, Reavis 4, Melton 0, Calisaan 0

NLEX 100 -- Ravena 27, Alas 18, Cruz 17, Quinahan 16, Porter 5, Semerad 5, Ayonayon 5, Soyud 4, Ighalo 3, Miranda 0, Galanza 0, Taulava 0, Varilla 0

Quarter scores: 23-23, 39-50, 70-78, 103-100

PHOTO: PBA