At the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, MAGNOLIA easily defeated Terrafirma, 124-103, to give themselves a much-needed confidence boost in the PBA Governors Cup.

On a soggy Sunday, the Hotshots got off to a quick start, outscoring opponents 28 to 9 thanks to imports Glenn Robinson III, Ian Sangalang, and Jerrick Ahanmisi.

Magnolia’s lead grew to 28 points before the first half was up thanks to a Paul Lee-completed four-point play.

Following that, the Hotshots easily leveled their win-loss record at 2-2 and overcame their three-day earlier 88-82 setback to the reigning champion TNT Tropang Giga.

With four straight losses in Group A, Terrafirma’s struggles have been made worse by injuries to Juami Tiongson, a prolific scorer, and Kemark Carino, a youthful big man, as well as Antonio Hester’s poor performance.

Robinson recorded a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds in spite of suffering from food illness, while Ahanmisi finished with a career-high 24 points, driven by a 4-of-8 shooting performance from beyond the 27-foot arc.

“We did very well, especially with that strong start. We played on our pace, and I think our defense dictated it right away, and yun naghawa-hawa na lang siguro lahat,” Magnolia Coach Chito remarked.

Zavier Lucero, a sophomore big man, scored 15 points, 13 of which came in the third quarter. Sangalang, Paul Lee, and Joseph Eriobu combined for 39 points to lead the Hotshots, who will next play Northport before traveling out of town on Saturday to play Meralco in Panabao City, Davao Del Norte.

In a losing effort for the Dyip, Stanley Pringle finished with 23 points, six rebounds, and five assists.

Hester was limited to only two points on a 1-of-4 shooting effort, while Christian Stanhardinger led the way with a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds.

The Scores

Magnolia 124 – Ahanmisi 24, Robin III 20, Lucero 15, Sangalang 14, Lee 13, Eriobu 12, Balanza 7, Barroca 6, Laput 6, Dionisio 4, Abueva 3, Mendoza 0, Reavis 0, Dela Rosa 0, Alfaro 0.

Terrafirma 103 – Pringle 23, Standhardinger 22, Hernandez 18, Sangalang 9, Ramos 9, Ferrer 7, Hanapi 7, Cahilig 6, Hester 2, Tiongson 0, Olivario 0, Carino 0.

Quarter scores – 34-13; 63-32; 86-64; 124-103.

On the other hand, if losing wasn’t enough, Terrafirma suffered injuries that sidelined two of its starters.

In the first half of the game, guard Juami Tiongson and sophomore big man Kemark Carino were eliminated one after the other. 

Tiongson, who made the second Mythical Team the previous season, is scheduled to have an MRI on Monday because the preliminary results of his evaluation suggest that he may have a hamstring strain. 

Carino sustained a groin injury while playing for the Season 48 All-Defensive Team.

Tiongson, 33, played nine minutes after missing all four of his field goals.

In contrast, the 6-foot-7 Carino dressed for five minutes before leaving the game in the second quarter due to a groin injury.

Terrafirma continued and lost 124-103, its fourth game in a row.