BEHIND the heroics of Mark Barroca late in overtime, Magnolia made it three in a row in PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup with a 98-95 nail-biter of a win over San Miguel Beer in their Holy Wednesday duel at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Barroca was 0-of-8 from the field in a tough struggle until he drilled in back-to-back big baskets in the closing seconds, lifting the Hotshots past their fellow erstwhile unbeaten rivals.
San Miguel suffered its first defeat in three starts as the Beermen floundered at endgame of the match that they dominated early on, with a lead as big as 14.
Even as they lost control, the Beermen had a chance to win the game in regulation but June Mar Fajardo flubbed their final attempt.
The two teams then engaged in a tight nip-and-tuck battle in the extra period before the Hotshots eventually stole the game on two long twinners by Barroca in the last 46.5-second mark and with 7.3 seconds to go.
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Barroca stole the show with those dagger baskets, capping a mere seven-point game also marked by 3-of-4 free throws. He finished with a statsline that included seven assists, three rebounds and four steals.
Carrying much of the load earlier for Magnolia were Zavier Lucero and Jerom Lastimosa who fired away 24 and 21 points, respectively.
Calvin Abueva produced a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, Peter Alfaro III contributed 11 markers while Paul Lee banged away 10 markers including a four-ball that sparked a key Magnolia run late in the fourth.
The Hotshots slowly chipped away then outfought the Beermen in the crunch, thus, sending to the dustbin the double-double numbers of Fajardo (17 points and 17 rebounds) and Rodney Brondial (10 markers and 11 boards).
Also going down the drain were the 17 points of Juami Tiongson, Don Trollano's 16, CJ Perez' 14 and Chris Ross' 10. (SB)
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The Scores (OT) :
MAGNOLIA 98 - Lucero 24, Lastimosa 21, Alfaro 11, Abueva 11, Lee 10, Sangalang 8, Barroca 7, Dela Rosa 4, Reavis 2, Dionisio 0, Laput 0, Ahanmisi 0, Balanza 0, Escoto 0.
SAN MIGUEL 95 - Fajardo 17, Tiongson 17, Trollano 16, Perez 14, Ross 10, Brondial 10, Lassiter 3, Cahilig 3, Tautuaa 3, Cruz 2, Teng 0.
QUARTERS: 18-18, 36-45, 61-67, 87-87, 98-95
