Magnolia eliminates Rain or Shine, books semis ticket

Magnolia Hotshots held off the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters late in Game 2 of their best-of-three quarterfinal series to come out with a 96-86 victory and book a semifinal spot in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup on Thursday.

Paul Lee led the offensive charge for Magnolia with 24 points and three assists while Calvin Abueva carved out another double-double output of 20 markers and 19 rebounds.

The Hotshots drew first blood in the series with an 81-70 victory over ROS on Sunday.

Magnolia now awaits the winner of the do-or-die quarterfinal between the Meralco Bolts and NLEX Road Warriors on Friday.

The Hotshots established a huge 16-point lead at one point in the second quarter, 43-27. But Elasto Painters ignited for a 14-6 blitz capped by three treys from James Yap, Adrian Wong, and Andrei Caracut to slice the deficit to only eight at halftime, 49-41.

Rain or Shine outscored Magnolia in the third, 28-22, while only committing two turnovers to end the frame trailing by just two, 71-69.

With a sense of urgency, Magnolia opened the payoff period with a quick 11-2 rampage before Wong hit another triple, 82-74. They extended that lead to as big as 13, 89-76, with 4:29 left to play.

That margin was trimmed to six after Rey Nambatac drained back-to-back triples at 92-86 but Mark Barroca responded with a personal 4-0 run to book the win for Magnolia.

Yap was on-target against his old team as the veteran sniper unleashed team-high 16 points and three rebounds while Nambatac finished with 13 markers.

Scores:

Magnolia 96 - Lee 24, Abueva 20, Jalalon 16, Sangalang 13, Barroca 8, Corpuz 5, Ahanmisi 3, Dela Rosa 3, Reavis 2, Pascual 1, Dionisio 1

Rain or Shine 86 - Yap 16, Nambatac 13, Mocon 9, Caracut 9, Belga 8, Wong 8, Santillan 8, Asistio 7, Norwood 3,  Borboran 3, Ponferada 2, Torres 0, Guinto 0, Tolentino 0

Quarter scores: 28-17, 49-41, 71-69, 96-86

—MGP, GMA News