At the Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday, MAGNOLIA defeated Converge 83-71 to keep their perfect record in the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup.

On the day the PBA celebrated its 50th year, Ian Sangalang defeated Kabalen Justine Baltazar, improving the Hotshots to 2-0 (win-loss).

Sangalang finished with 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists, giving his longtime supporter and current Converge deputy coach Gov. Dennis Pineda a lot of trouble.
The Hotshots defeated the FiberXers 24–15 in the fourth quarter thanks to Sangalang’s goals.

As they thrived under Chito Victolero’s new system, which includes more players and places a focus on defense, Zavier Lucero finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and two blocks, while Russell Escoto contributed 11 points.

“Credit all the players. They embraced ‘yung ginagawa namin kung ano man ‘yung system namin ngayon. Binuild namin ‘yung strength ng depensa namin. I think nagwo-work naman,” Victorlero said.

For the FiberXers, Schonny Winston scored 14 points and Justin Arana got 14 points and 14 rebounds. Sangalang scored six points in the fourth quarter, and despite Baltazar’s 11 points and 13 rebounds, he and Arana were unable to stop him.

Sangalang’s quick stab gave them the largest advantage of the game, 78-66.

The Scores

Magnolia 83 –  Lucero 18, Sangalang 18, Escoto 11, Dela Rosa 9, Abueva 8, Alfaro 4, Barroca 4, Laput 4, Lee 3, Dionisio 2, Lastimosa 2, Eriobu 0, Reavis 0.

Converge 71 – Winston 14, Arana 14, Baltazar 11, Racal 11, Stockton 8, B. Santos 4, Garcia 4, Corpuz 3, Delos Santos 2, Vigan-Fleming 0, Nermal 0, Ambohot 0, Caralipio 0, R. Santos 0.

Quarter scores: 14-16; 36-33; 59-56; 83-71.

On the other hand, when Rey Suerte played his old team Blackwater for the first time since being traded to Converge, he felt conflicted.

During the PBA Philippine Cup main event at Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Suerte expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to reunite with his former colleagues and share the court with them.

However, after being traded to the FiberXers for shooting guard BJ Andrade, he felt a little uncomfortable facing them in his first match with the Bossing.

Accepted the 6-foot-2 shooting guard, who spent time in college at the University of the East and the University of the Visayas. “Masaya ako kasi nakita ko ulit sila (Bossing), pero nakakapanibago lang siyempre,”

Blackwater selected Suerte with the second overall pick in the 2019 special Gilas draft.

However, he didn’t make his team debut until the 2022 Governors’ Cup, where he remained until the Bossing traded him to the FiberXers at the beginning of the season’s last conference.

He acknowledged being surprised by the deal, which he first found out about a few days after Blackwater’s first training day before the all-Filipino competition.

However, it was not intended for Suerte to perform at his peak when wearing a Converge uniform in the opposing game against Blackwater.

With 11 points on 4-of-7 field goals, including 3-of-4 from three-point range, he was one of five players in double figures for the FiberXers, who evened their record at 2-2.