Paul Lee scatters 32 as Magnolia stuns San Miguel

Magnolia ended its 2021 PBA Philippine Cup elimination round campaign with 8 victories against 3 defeats after outlasting San Miguel, 90-80, Friday night at the Don Honorio Ventura State University in Bacolor, Pampanga.

The victory enabled the Hotshots solidify their hold of the 3rd spot in the Philippine Cup rankings behind TNT and Meralco.

Paul Lee topscored for the 2014 PBA Grand Slam champs with 32 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field spiked by 3-of-6 from beyond the arc to go along with 4 rebounds and 5 assists while Ian Sangalang posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Rookie Jerrick Ahanmisi contributed 11 points and 2 assists.

“Actually, ayun din yung pinag-usapan namin eh. Yung game na ‘to is in our hands. Kumbaga kontrolado namin.” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero.

“The game of other teams, that’s not in our control. So now, we just try to wait. Nagawa namin yung trabaho namin, nagawa namin yung kung ano yung dapat naming gawin. And then kung destiny namin, kung talagang bigay sa amin ni Lord na mapunta kami doon sa Top 2 spot, so be it. Kung hindi, we play a very good game and then madadala namin yan sa playoffs.” he added.

San Miguel, on the other hand, failed in its bid to post back-to-back wins and dropped to 6-4.

CJ Perez paced the Leo Austria-mentored squad with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists while Arwind Santos racked up 18 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Von Pessumal and Marcio Lassiter posted 13 points apiece.

The scores :

Magnolia 100 – Lee 32, Sangalang 15, Ahanmisi 11, Barroca 9, Dionisio 8, Abueva 8, Pascual 7, Reavis 4, Corpuz 4, Jalalon 2, Dela Rosa 0, De Leon 0.

San Miguel 90 – Perez 20, Santos 18, Lassiter 13, Pessumal 13, Zamar 9, Fajardo 8, Tautuaa 5, Ross 4, Comboy 0, Sena 0, Gotladera 0, Gamalinda 0.

Quarterscores: 25-14, 47-39, 66-65, 100-90.