LEAGUE basketball’s tough and rough persists, Magnolia simply won’t give up and pass away. 

The Hotshots got out to a quick start and then held off a fierce TNT comeback in the last minutes to win Game 5 on Friday, 105-97, and stay alive in the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals. This time, they avoided foul trouble.

Outstanding recap of game  5 of Magnolia vs. TNT

Mark Barroca made up for his five-point performance the previous time by scoring 25 points and directing the Hotshots to a dominant first half that gave them a comfortable lead and countered the Tropang Giga’s fourth-quarter comeback. 

With Game 6 scheduled for Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the Hotshots are still behind 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

A tough but practical Coach Chito Victolero recounts, “We lived for another day pero wala kaming dapat i-celebrate kasi we’re still down in the series.” 

Barroca had 16 points by the time the Hotshots sprinted to a 51-35 advantage in the first half. 

During that period, Ian Sangalang scored nine of his 16 points and managed to avoid foul trouble once more, finishing with seven rebounds. 

By controlling his emotions, Calvin Abueva added a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.

“We did a good job on defense. Sabi ko nga wala naman kaming babaguhin sa depensa namin, and we did a good job of sustaining that defense for 48 minutes,” Victolero regretted that his key players’ early foul trouble cost the Hotshots Games 3 and 4, respectively.

“We limit our fouls. We played physical but nasa game naman yung nilalaro namin,” he added. “We just have to give credit to all the players, you know our backs are against the wall, do-or-die, pero yung mental toughness (nila) nandoon.”

Troy Rosario had 17, Jayson Castro had 18, and Poy Erram had 16 points and nine rebounds to lead all TNT scorers. 

Mikey Williams, a hot sophomore shooter, was limited to just 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the field and 1-of-9 from three-point range. 

He remained scoreless in the fourth quarter as well. 

With 3:59 left to play, though, a three-pointer by Glenn Khobuntin allowed the Tropang Giga to draw within 95-92. 

But an 8-2 Magnolia run that Barroca and Paul Lee engineered increased the margin to 103-94 with two minutes remaining.

Troy Rosario had 17, Jayson Castro had 18, and Poy Erram had 16 points and nine rebounds to lead all TNT scorers. 

Mikey Williams, a hot sophomore shooter, was limited to just 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the field and 1-of-9 from three-point range. 

He remained scoreless in the fourth quarter as well. 

With 3:59 left to play, though, a three-pointer by Glenn Khobuntin allowed the Tropang Giga to draw within 95-92. 

But an 8-2 Magnolia run that Barroca and Paul Lee engineered increased the margin to 103-94 with two minutes remaining.

Jio Jalalon, who is injured, promises to play for Magnolia in the decisive Game 6

Jim Jalalon promises to play through the discomfort as Magnolia attempts to salvage its PBA Philippine Cup campaign. 

The quick guard confirmed that he will play for the Hotshots in Game 6 of their best-of-seven semifinal series on Sunday despite having a strained left hamstring. 

Jalalon missed the team’s 105-97 victory in Friday’s fourth quarter after aggravating the injury he had been nursing since the elimination round.

The playmaker from Arellano stated, “Nandito na kami kaya isasagad ko na ito kung hanggang saan kami makarating.”

Jalalon was playing well for three quarters before becoming hurt, and this put a damper on his performance. 

He finished with 15 points on 7 of 11 field goal attempts. 

Jalalon claimed that while playing for a rebound against RR Pogoy, he felt the discomfort.

End of game results

Magnolia (105)

Individual scores are as follows: Barroca 25, Abueva 16, Lee 16, Sangalang 16, Jalalon 15, Dionisio 10, Dela Rosa 3, Reavis 2, Escoto 2, Wong 0.

TNT (97)

Individual scores are as follows: Castro 18, Rosario 17, Erram 16, M.Williams 13, Pogoy 13, Khobuntin 12, K.Williams 6, Montalbo 2, Reyes 0, Ganuelas-Rosser.

Scores per quarter: 28-26; 59-45; 81-73; 105-97.