Magnolia now one step closer to 2019 PBA Philippine Cup finals

“Final: 82 – 74 in favor of the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok!
Best Player: Mark Barroca with 14 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists #PBALabanKungLaban #PBASemis” (Photo: PBA/Facebook)

The Magnolia Hotshots now have a 3-2 advantage over Rain or Shine (RoS), defeating their Manila Clasico rivals, 82-74, during Game Five of the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup semifinals best-of-seven series last Wednesday, April 24 at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Veteran Mark Barroca led the way for his team with 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals, while teammate Jio Jalalon also had 14 points with four rebounds and three assists. However, it was Rafi Reavis who surprised the crowd with his heroic nine points during the last few minutes of the game. Throughout the entire match, he also toughed it out with 12 rebounds. Guard Paul Lee was scoreless throughout the entire game, but RoS head coach Chito Victolero believes his 28 minutes on the court were unwasted because “it’s not the points, but the leadership. His presence is what’s most important to the team.”

For Rain or Shine, Gabe Norwood tried to catch up to their opponents’ strong start with 15 points, while two-time Most Valuable Player James Yap was the second highest pointer at 12.

Responding to his players’ performance, Coach Chito told the media after the game, “We just tried to be consistent playing Magnolia Hotshots basketball which is more of a defensive mindset. We just try to focus more on our defense, bring their score under 90 points.”

The Hotshots will try to close out their semifinals run against the Elastopainters and advance to the next round on Friday, April 26 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. Anticipating the matchup, Coach Victolero concluded, “We will try. The goal is to win four games to win the series. We will try to close it out on Friday because we know Rain or Shine can also come back.”