Barroca, Sangalang shine as Magnolia defeats NorthPort

Mark Barroca led the Magnolia Hotshots to victory, finishing off with 16 points. PBA Images

By Xy-Zha Cabanlong

MANILA - The Magnolia Hotshots came in prepared, defeating the NorthPort Batang Pier, Friday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, 96-80.

Mark Barroca turned things around in favour of the Hotshots in the second quarter, after the Batang Pier were off to a good start in the ball game.

Ian Sangalang, on the other hand, played one of his best games and finished off with a career-high of 28 points.

NorthPort dominated the first quarter only to collapse in the second, after Barroca scored a triple that gave the lead to the Hotshots, 26-23.

From then, NorthPort was not able to recover, allowing Magnolia to lead as much as 22 points at halftime, 53-31.

The scoring curse continued to haunt the Batang Pier as the Hotshots continued to convert point after point which gave way for them to lead as much as 31 points after Sangalang completed a three-point play, 75-44.

In the final quarter, NorthPort made a run to trim Magnolia's lead to 14, 94-80.

However, NorthPort's late rally in the game was not enough to take the victory away from Magnolia as time was not on their side.

Both teams now have one win and one loss each.

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