Vic Manuel Vic Manuel of Phoenix battles Cliff Hodge of Meralco in this bit of action in the PBA

Magnolia seeks No. 4

July 29, 2021 Ed Andaya 529 views

MAGNOLIA seeks its fourth straight win when it takes on Terrafirma even as Barangay Ginebra and NorthPort clash for the first time since exchanging big men in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

Game time is 12:30 p.m. with the Hotshots putting their perfect 3-0 win-loss record on the line against the Dyip side still looking for its first win after two losses.

Magnolia coach Chito Victolero reminded the Hotshots to keep their focus as they hope to finish the 11-game eliminations as one of the top two teams with a twice-to-beat advantage in the next round.

“Maganda ang simula namin with three straight victories.But alam namin kailangan pa rin naming mag-trabaho lalo na maaga pa,” said Victolero following Magnolia’s 89-79 win over Ginebra last Sunday.

“We’ll take it one game at a time. Madami pang pwedeng mangyari kaya hindi kami pwedeng mag-relax. We will try to find ways on how to win.”

Expected to add excitement to the heavy three-game bill is the Ginebra-NorthPort encounter where Christian Standhardinger and Greg Slaughter meet for the first time since their blockbuster trade.

The 6 p.m. encounter will see Standhardinger and Slaughter battle each other as they try to help their respecitve teams improve their 1-2 slates.

Standhardinger, who won the “Best Player of the Conference” plum with NorthPort in the 2019 Governors’ Cup, has performed well in three matches with the Gin Kings.

Slaughter, who missed NorthPort’s first two games of the season, did well with 23 points and 17 rebounds in a keenly-watched matchup with San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo.

“Greg was dominant against San Miguel. He was very impressive and now with the return of (Robert) Bolick, NorthPort has a dynamic 1-2 punch,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone,

The 3 p.m. game pitting erstwhile co-leader Rain or Shine (3-1) against Talk N Text (1-0) is also expected to attract attention.

The E-Painters are hoping to bounce back fron their franchise-worst setback to Alaska and regain their winning ways.

Games Friday:

(Ynares Sports Arena-Pasig)
12:30 p.m. -Terrafirma vs. Magnolia
3 p.m. –Talk N Text vs. Rain or Shine
6 p.m. — Ginebra vs. NorthPort

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