MANILA, Philippines, May 29 ------ The Magnolia Hotshots rolled to a rousing PBA On Tour debut with a 117-83 blowout of the lowly Blackwater Bossing at the Ynares Sports Arena on Sunday, May 28. Eight players breached double-digit scoring in the wire-to-wire cruise, led by 14 points each from veteran Mark Barroca, young sniper Jerrick Ahanmisi, and new trade acquisition Abu Tratter.
Big man James Laput continued to play well in the absence of Ian Sangalang, posting a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double in the rout that ballooned as bad as 40 points, 72-32, early in the third quarter. Backup center James Sena paced the Bossing in yet another forgettable loss with 11 points in 22 minutes off the bench, while guards Rashawn McCarthy and RK Ilagan scored 10 apiece. Magnolia played without core pieces Sangalang, Calvin Abueva, and Jio Jalalon in the no-bearing exhibition.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Fuel Masters gutted out a close 100-93 win in the second game against the Meralco Bolts.
Veteran big man Raul Soyud was near-unstoppable in the 25 minutes he played, tallying a huge 25-point, 13-rebound double-double on an ultra-efficient 11-of-12 clip with zero turnovers before fouling out just as the game was about to be decided. RR Garcia and Larry Muyang provided a nice bench spark with 15 and 13 points, respectively, with the latter also corralling 12 boards. Phoenix held on for the win despite not having the services of top guns Jason Perkins and Javee Mocon.
As Meralco played without top guards Aaron Black, Chris Banchero, and Chris Newsome, Anjo Caram took up the scoring cudgels in the losing effort with 24 points on a stellar 11-of-15 clip in more than 37 minutes of floor time. Do-it-all forward Bong Quinto, meanwhile, saw a 12-point, 11-assist, 6-board outing in 42 minutes all go down the drain in the loss.
The Scores:
First Game
Magnolia 117 – Tratter 14, Ahanmisi 14, Barroca 14, Dionisio 12, Laput 12, Lee 11, Eriobu 10, Dela Rosa 9, Mendoza 8, Murrell 3, Reavis 0.
Blackwater 83 – Sena 11, McCarthy 10, Ilagan 10, Ular 9, Amer 8, Casio 6, Suerte 6, Rosario 6, Hill 6, Escoto 5, Ayonayon 3, Taha 2, Publico 1, Banal 0, DiGregorio 0.
Quarters: 31-19, 68-30, 90-57, 117-83.
Second Game:
Phoenix 100 – Soyud 25, Garcia 15, Muyang 13, Manganti 12, Tio 10, Atienza 9, Alejandro 7, Lalata 6, Jazul 3.
Meralco 93 – Caram 24, Hodge 12, Torres 11, Quinto 10, Jose 9, Pasaol 7, Rios 6, Pascual 4, Almazan 4, Manday 3, Johnson 3.
Quarters: 21-19, 51-43, 73-72, 100-93.
Source: rappler.com
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