By MARK REY MONTEJO
Magnolia flexed its might and manhandled Meralco, 117-92, to stay unblemished in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila on Wednesday evening, May 14.
The Hotshots dominated the match from start to finish en route to their sixth win in as many outings to remain on top of the standings.
The Bolts, on the other hand, sustained back-to-back losses and fell to a 3-5 hole.
Paul Lee caught fire from the 4-point line where he drilled four to pace Magnolia with 27 points. Ian Sanggalang backstopped him with 16 points.
Chris Banchero had 20 points while Chris Newsome cashed in 14 for Meralco. Four other players from the Bolts — Bong Quinto (13), Raymond Almazan (13), Cliff Hodge (10), and Aaron Black (10) finished with double-digit scoring which all went for naught.
Meanwhile, NLEX relied on a strong opening quarter to crush Terrafirma, 117-87, for a fifth consecutive win.
With their victory, the Road Warriors hiked their slate to 5-1 at second and also tied their previous win streak record in the 2019 Governors’ Cup.
Brandon Ramirez stood tallest for NLEX after listing 21 points with four rebounds, one assist, and one steal, while Bryle Bahio, Robert Herndon, and Javee Mocon chipped in 17, 15, and 13 points, respectively.
Kevin Ferrer led Dyip’s offense with 23 points while Mark Sangalang added 15. Mark Nonoy and Brent Paraiso combined for 21 points.
The Dyip suffered their sixth straight loss for a 1-6 card.
