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| Jio Jalalon was impressive in his return to CDO. PBA Media Group |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA—Magnolia finally notched a win in the PBA Philippine Cup, drubbing Meralco, 92-86, at the Xavier University Gym in Cagayan De Oro on Saturday night.
The Hotshots shut the lights out from the Bolts in the final six and a half minutes to get out of a 0-3 hole.
Meralco looked to get out of a tight encounter with Magnolia as it held an 82-78 lead with 6:51 remaining.
But the Hotshots went on an 11-0 run to go up, 89-82, with four minutes to play.
The Bolts still had one last push after making back-to-back buckets that cut the lead down to three, 89-86, with 2:11 to play, but the Hotshots held them scoreless the rest of the way, giving them some sigh of relief after missing key baskets of their own that could have iced the game sooner.
Jio Jalalon was impressive in his homecoming, scoring 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and one steal for Magnolia.
Paul Lee returned to club basketball duties with a relatively fine performance of 15 markers, six rebounds, and one assist off the bench.
Ian Sangalang put up a double-double of 12 points and 16 rebounds with one assist, two blocks, and one steal.
Chris Newsome made 22 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and one block for Meralco, which fell to 2-5.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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