Magnolia picks up 3rd straight win, as Dyip stay winless

MANILA, Philippines, November 6 ------ The Magnolia Hotshots racked up a third consecutive win after taking a 103-89 victory over the TerraFirma Dyip, Thursday afternoon at the Angeles University Foundation Gym in Angeles City, Pampanga. Less than 24 hours after beating league-leading TNT Tropang Giga, the Hotshots extended their winning streak in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup with another impressive victory that hiked their record to 4-4.

The hapless Dyip continue to flounder in the conference, dropping to 0-7. They remain the only winless team in the PBA's bubble. Paul Lee had another strong performance, putting up 29 points after making seven of his ten attempts from the field and 10 of 11 shots from the free throw line. Rome dela Rosa came off the bench to contribute 17 points, and Ian Sangalang finished with a double-double of 16 points and 10 boards. "It's all about our defense," said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero as the Hotshots limited the Dyip to just 37% shooting. "The defense saved us today. 'Yun naman 'yun eh -- if we lower the score to less than 90, we have a big chance of winning the game."

Magnolia became only the second team to win back-to-back games so far in the conference, although for a while it seemed that the Dyip were on their way to a massive upset. Despite Lee's hot shooting, Magnolia only led by two points, 48-46, at the half, and the Dyip were within striking distance even with CJ Perez struggling in the first two quarters. But the rest of the Hotshots stepped up in a crucial third quarter where they outscored TerraFirma, 28-14. Sangalang and dela Rosa conspired with Lee in an 11-0 run that turned a slim 49-48 lead into a comfortable 60-48 advantage, and the Dyip never recovered.

The Hotshots eventually led by 18 points, 78-60, at the top of the fourth period, thanks to a Chris Banchero layup. Even with Perez finally getting his rhythm on offense, the Dyip were unable to trim the deficit to single digits the rest of the way. Perez finished with 19 points on 6-of-16 shooting, while Reden Celda had 16 points and Eric Camson added 14.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com/sports