MAGNOLIA used a strong third-quarter performance to roll back Meralco, 108-96, and boost its chances for a top two finish and twice-to-beat advantage in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

Paul Lee scored 11 of his 27 points in the third quarter as the Hotshots took control with 47 points enroute to their ninth win in 11 games, behind only Bay Area Dragons.

The Hotshots, who bounced back after losing 89-95 to Bay Area last Nov. 19, actually outscored Meralco, 47-23, in the third quarter to open up a 93-74 advantage.

Calvin Abueva added 17 points and five rebounds, while Nicholas Rakocevic had a monster double-double of 16 points and 20 rebounds in 36 minutes for the Hotshots of coach Chito Victolero.

Jio Jalalon had 12 points and Mark Barroca and Ian Sangalang had 11 points apiece.

KJ McDaniels paced the Bolts with 32 points on 10-of-21 shooting in 45 minutes of action on top of nine rebounds for coach Norman Black.

Aaron Black added 16 points and six rebounds for the Bolts, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end and dropped to 4-6.

Later, Ginebra outayed NorthPort, 122-105, to keep its hopes for a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals alive with their eighth win against three losses.

Hardly affected by an upset loss to NLEX Road Warriors in tbeir previous outing, the Kings outscored the Batang Pier, 29-13, in the final period to win pulling away.

More importantly, the Kings stayed right behind second-running Magnolia and joint third with the Converge FiberXers ahead of their virtual playoff duel on Wednesday.

Justin Brownlee had a near triple-double performance for Ginebrà.with 31 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.

Jamie Malonzo added 26 points and Christian Standhardinger contributed 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

The scores:

First game

Magnolia (108) — Lee 27, Abueva 17, Rakocevic 16, Jalalon 12, Sangalang 11, Barroca 11, Dela Rosa 6, Ahanmisi 3, Reavis 2, Corpuz 2, Laput 1, Wong 0, Dionisio 0.
Meralco (96) — McDaniels 32, Black 16, Quinto 14, Banchero 11, Johnson 9, Almazan 8, Caram 2, Hodge 2, Pascual 2, Maliksi 0, Hugnatan 0, Pasaol 0, Jose 0.
Quarterscores: 27-21, 46-51, 93-74, 108-96.

Second game

Ginebra 122 – Brownlee 31, Malonzo 26, Standhardinger 20, Gray 12, Thompson 8, J. Aguilar 7, Pringle 7, Mariano 6, Tenorio 3, Pinto 2.
NorthPort 105 – Tolentino 24, Ibeh 23, Bolick 22, Navarro 11, Chan 10, Ferrer 8, Balanza 4, Taha 3, Sumang 0.
Quarterscores: 27-34, 63-63, 93-92, 122-105

Games Wednesday:

(Philsports Arena)
3 p.m. — Meralco vs. NLEX
5:45 p.m. — Converge vs. Ginebra