By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
After two long years, the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok is back in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
The all-around team effort of the Hotshots paid dividends as they knocked out the pesky and resilient Meralco Bolts team, 93-85, in Game six of the PH Cup semifinals to advance in the finals after two seasons.
Magnolia’s ever-reliable big man Ian Sangalang doesn’t want any rubber match to be played as he immediately buckled down to work and gave Meralco a huge problem in the paint.
The leftie scorer out of San Sebastian looked like a man on a mission as he just scored at will no matter what defense Meralco head coach Norman Black threw at him and finished the game with 19 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, three blocks, and two steals.
With Magnolia slowly capturing the momentum off Sangalang’s heroic close-out performance, Meralco’s resilient DNA was still not to be denied as they managed to stay within striking distance in the crucial stretch of the fourth quarter.
The Bolts cut the deficit to just five, 85-80, and are seeking to click on offense after another defensive stop but a crucial miss swung Magnolia’s way after Mark Barroca and Rome Dela Rosa scored back-to-back baskets for an 89-80 lead.
Cliff Hodge attempted to make things close after converting on his driving layup to cut the lead to seven, 89-82, but the curtains were closed after Jio Jalalon sank a high-looping floater with 48 seconds left to ice the game.
Despite main gunner Paul Lee’s unlikely four points in Game 6, five Magnolia players stepped up for him as Sangalang had 19, Barroca and Dela Rosa with 16-points apiece and Jalalon and Calvin Abueva with 11-points apiece.
