Magnolia escaped a late attack from Converge for a 105-93 win in their PBA Governors' Cup match at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Friday night.
Holding on to a 97-80 lead with 4:23 left, the Hotshots found themselves only up by five, 98-93, with 1:58 left as the FiberXers went on a 13-1 run behind crucial threes from BJ Andrade and Kevin Racal.
However, a putback from Ian Sangalang sparked the game-ending 8-0 run for Magnolia to seal the win.
"We did a good job on the defensive end," said coach Chito Victolero, who added that his team's goal is to hold their opponents to at most 92 points per game, which they somehow did.
Paul Lee put up 14 points on a 4-of-6 clip from the field, four rebounds, and seven assists en route to Best Player honors for the Hotshots, who moved to 1-1 after bouncing back from an opening-night loss to the Meralco Bolts.
Tre Robinson led Magnolia with 28 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals as Ian Sangalang and Jerrick Ahanmisi also tallied 14 markers each.
Scotty Hopson put up 26 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and one steal for Converge, which fell to 1-1.
In the first game, William Navarro stole the show from the returning Venky Jois in a 112-93 NorthPort rout against Terrafirma.
Navarro fired a career-high 31 points on 13-of-20 shooting with five rebounds to lead the Batang Pier, who pulled away from the Dyip after a 34-point third quarter capped by a halfcourt heave from Fran Yu at the buzzer, which now counts as a four-pointer.
"I'm just confident like I know my shots are gonna go in," said Navarro, who also tallied two assists and two steals.
Jois added 16 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, one block, and one steal for NorthPort, which moved to 1-1.
Arvin Tolentino came close to a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists with three steals and one block.
Juami Tiongson put up 19 markers, three boards, and five dimes but also committed seven turnovers as Terrafirma dropped to 0-2.
Stanley Pringle tallied 17 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, while Antonio Hester tallied 13 points, 11 caroms, five assists, and two steals. (PNA)
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