MANILA, Philippines – As Mark Barroca continues to thrive off the bench, Magnolia has turned things around in the PBA Governors’ Cup after an inauspicious start.

Barroca claimed the PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period of February 8 to 12 with solid performances in back-to-back wins that saw the Hotshots rebound from three straight losses to open the conference.

He averaged 20 points on a healthy 62% shooting to go with 3.5 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals as Magnolia crushed both Phoenix and Barangay Ginebra to improve to 2-3.

With the help of new import Antonio Hester, Barroca finished with 19 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals to key the Hotshots to their first victory via a 108-95 whipping of the Fuel Masters.

The former Gilas Pilipinas guard then fired a conference-high 21 points on top of 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals in a 118-88 rout of the Gin Kings, marking the most lopsided Clasico duel in nearly two decades.

Barroca teamed up with Hester in their second-quarter breakaway – scoring 9 points in the period – as Magnolia dealt Ginebra its first loss after a 3-0 start.

With the pair of wins, the Hotshots climbed to seventh place.

Barroca bested TNT’s Mikey Williams and Rain or Shine’s Nick Demusis for the weekly citation being handed out by the group of print and online media regularly covering the PBA beat. – Rappler.com