Magnolia dominates OT to complete comeback vs. Terrafirma

Antonio Hester dropped 40 on his former team, but Magnolia still needed a comeback to beat Terrafirma. PBA Images

By Ivan Saldajeno

PASIG—Magnolia stuffed Terrafirma in overtime to score a 121-115 Saturday night win to stay alive in the PBA Governors' Cup Top 4 race.

In a crucial showdown at the PhilSports Arena here, the Hotshots completed a comeback from 15 points down to force a three-way tie with the Meralco Bolts and the Converge FiberXers for fifth place at 6-4, one full game outside the Top 4.

Down 92-107 with 4:36 left in regulation, Magnolia finished the game on an 18-3 run capped by an Antonio Hester layup off an Adrian Wong steal with 11.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Juami Tiongson air-balled a tough fallaway as time ran out on Terrafirma's chance to pull off an upset.

Jordan Williams scored the Dyip's first point of the extension, but the Hotshots responded with eight straight points and never looked back from there.

Hester dropped 40 points in his first game against his former team, going 15-for-21 from the field, along with 17 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block.

Paul Lee, Calvin Abueva, and Mark Barroca each added 16 points with Abueva also grabbing 17 boards for his own double-double.

Jio Jalalon barely missed out on a triple-double as he contributed 13 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists with one steal.

Jordan Williams fired 45 points on 15-of-24 shooting with seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals, but he too committed eight turnovers as Terrafirma bombed out of the quarterfinal race after losing its sixth straight game after a 2-2 start.

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