By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Magnolia Chicken Timplados continued their hot streak in the ongoing PBA On Tour Preseason after nipping the NLEX Road Warriors, 103-97, to keep its winning streak alive last June 3, 2023, held at the Baliwag Star Arena in Bulacan.
Magnolia dominated in the first three-quarters of the PBA regular season preview matchup but the Road Warriors were able to unleash a crucial offensive snowball in the last five minutes of the game to keep themselves within striking distance.
Despite the late NLEX scoring rally, the Chicken Timplados kept their poise and took advantage of their size to ice the game.
Energy guy Jackson Corpuz stole the limelight for the Chicken Timplados and led the team in scoring with 19 big points built from a barrage of perimeter jump shots.
It was Corpuz who silenced the Road Warriors when they were building that huge run in the fourth and was also responsible for grabbing the key defensive rebounds for Magnolia.
James Laput, Magnolia’s big man reserve, once again proved he deserves a spot in the rotation of head coach Chito Victolero after chipping in another double-double performance of 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The towering big man is still searching for consistent playing time with the Magnolia system and his great showing during the past games might present a strong case since the main big man Ian Sangalang is still recovering from his injury.
Backstopping Corpuz and Laput is steady shooting guard Jerrick Ahanmisi who shot 5/9 from the three-point area to finish with 15 points.
With Magnolia only clinging to a three-point lead, Jed Mendoza sent in the dagger after converting on a long-distance trey to extend their advantage to six points with only 12.5 seconds left in the ball game.
The debuting Ben Adamos led the Road Warriors with 18 points while superstar guard Kevin Alas added 15 points in the losing effort.
