Magnolia a win away from Philippine Cup finals with Game 4 win over Meralco

The Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok are a win away from the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup finals after defeating the Meralco Bolts, 81-69, in Game 4 of the best-of-seven semifinals series in Pampanga.

Trailing by as many as 21 points early in the fourth quarter, Meralco charged back to cut their deficit to five, 74-69. But Mark Barroca stopped the run with a trey and free throws from him, Rafi Reavis, and Ian Sangalang sealed the win.

After a 46-35 lead at the end of the first half, the Hotshots started to pull away in the third period on a rally led by Calvin Abueva. The Pampanga-native had 10 of his 17 points in the third period which ended at 68-50.

Abueva, Barroca, and Sangalang shared team-high honors in scoring with 17 apiece. Abueva finished with 12 rebounds, Sangalang grabbed 11 boards of his own, while Barroca dished out six assists as well.

The Hotshots spoiled Reynel Hugnatan's 21-point output for the Bolts. Cliff Hodge and Chris Newsome were the only other players who scored in double digits with 13 and 11 points respectively.

Magnolia now leads the series, 3-1, with Game 5 set on Wednesday.

The scores:

Magnolia  81 – Barroca 17, Abueva 17, Sangalang 17, Jalalon 10, Lee 9, Ahanmisi 5, Dionisio 4, Corpuz 1, Reavis 1,  Dela Rosa 0.

Meralco  69 – Hugnatan 21, Hodge 13, Newsome 11, Quinto 7, Pinto 6, Belo 3, Pasaol 3, Baclao 3, Maliksi 2, Caram 0.

Quarterscores: 23-18, 46-35, 68-50, 81-69.

—JMB, GMA News