MAGNOLIA is back on track in the quarterfinal race.

The Hotshots, ever so eager to bounce back from a heartbreaking 92-95 setback to Barangay Ginebra on Christmas Day when they squandered a 22-point lead, helf off a fighting Terrafirma, 89-84,, in thePBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Ricardo Ratliffe finished with a game-high 32 points, including a layup with 29 seconds left to seal the win for the Hotshots.

Ratliffe’s insurance basket came after Brandon Walton-Edwards nailed a pressure-packed 3-point shot from an assist by Stanley Pringle to put the Dyip to within 84-87 with still 1:10 remaining on the clock.

And after Mark Barroca was whistled for an offensive foul, Pringle hmself had a chance to tie the score. But his three-point shot failed to find the ring, and Ratliffe secured the rebound for Magnolia.

Four players,led by import Ratliffe, scored in double figures for the Chito Victolero-mentored Hotshots.

Ratliffe came through with 32 points on 13-of-20 shooting, 14 rebounds and three assists in almost 39 minutes of action.

Zavier Lucero added 17, six rebounds and three assists and Ian Sangalang and Jerome Lastimosa contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively.

Sangalang also had seven rebounds while Lastimosa had four rebounds and three assists.

Pringle led the losing effort for the Dyip of coach Raymond Tiongco with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field, and five rebounds in 34 minutes of play.

Edwards added 14 points and eight rebounds in almost 39 minutes of play while Kevin Ferrer had 11 points and three rebounds.

Mark Nonoy and Brent Paraiso chipped in with eight and seven rebounds.

Meawwnhile, Converge FiberX aims to ride the lucky break it had in its last game and kick off the year on a high note when it tackles a TNT crew bidding to stretch its own winning streak Saturday in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The match is set at 5 p.m. with the FiberXers gunning for a fifth straight win that would jack their record to 7-2 and the Tropang Giga wanting to cop a fourth straight victory following a 0-2 start to the mid-season conference.

“It’s a big test for us,” admitted Converge acting head coach Franco Atienza.

The scores:

Magnolia (89) — Ratliffe 32, Lucero 17, Sangalang 13, Lastimosa 11, Dionisio 8, Barroca 4, Alfaro 2, Ahanmisi 2, Balanza 0, Abueva 0, Laput 0, Dela Rosa 0, Mendoza 0.
Terrafrima (84) — Pringle 22, Edwards 14, Ferrer 11, Nonoy 8, Paraiso 7, Manuel 6, Catapusan 5, Romeo 3, Carino 2, Hernandez 0, Melecio 0, Ramos 0.
Quarterscores: 28-25, 41-40, 68-66, 89-84.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Robert Andaya