SEVEN wins and counting.

Tyler Bey provided the spark as Magnolia Chicken Timplados held off San Miguel Beer, 94-90, for its seventh straight win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

Bey finished with another monster game with 31 points and 21 rebounds in 44 minutes and four other players also scored 10 points or more for the Hotshots, who equalled the all-time best start in a conference for the franchise with their seventh straight victory.

James Laput added 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists, Jio Jalalon contributed a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists and Mark Barroca and Aris Dionisio had 10 points apiece for the Hotshots of coach Chito Victolero.

Dionisio, however, stole the thunder in the as he nailed four pressure-packed free throws in the last 10 seconds to help Magnolia stave off San Miguel’s rally.

Dionisio, the 6-4 power-forward from NAASCU champion St. Clare College- Caloocan, went perfect with 2-of-2 shooting from the floor, 1-of-1 from deep and 5-of-5 from the free throw line in 13 quality minutes.

With the win, Magnolia became the first team to start a conference 7-0 since TNT in the 2019 Governors’ Cup under the Bong Ravena/Mark Dickel coaching set-up.

More importantly, the win assured the Hotshots of playoff spot and headway in the race for a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

Paul Lee also stands to become solo No. 10 in the league’s all-time list for most three-points made.

Before the Magnolia-San Miguel tiff, Lee needed just one more to break a tie with Mick Pennisi (with 963 total).

The Magnolia gunner, however, was limited to 19 minutes of action where he struggled with a 1-of-6 field-goal clip, 0-of-2 from the arc.

But even with Lee’s struggles, the Hotshots battled the Beermen on even terms in the first three quarters before seizing a 10-point lead entering the last two minutes of the game.

Ivan Aska topscored for San Miguel Beer with 29 points, including two in a lightning 8-0 blast that put the Beermen to within 88-90 with still 33 seconds left.

As the Beermen resorted to fouling, Dionisio rose to the challenge by hitting four straight charities to send the Beermen reeling to a second straight loss and third in six games overall.

Jericho Cruz finished with 16 points, while Mo Tautuaa added 12 points for the Beermen, who continued to struggle minus June Mar Fajardo, Terrence Romeo, Jeron Teng, Vic Manuel and Kyt Jimenez.

Earlier, former Detroit Pistons player Zach Lofton erupted for 54 points in Meralco’s 125-99 win over NorthPort.

Lofton, who was tapped as a temporary replacement for the injured Su Braimoh, sparked the Bolts’ decisive second half breakaway and led them to a third straight win that boosted their record to 5-1.

‘I wanted to step into the team and be the force that he was,” said Lofton, referring to Braimoh.

“The team, they believed in me, they helped me get my shots and ultimately I wanted to help get the win and we did.,” added Lofton, whose nine triples in the game was the most in a PBA debut since Blackwater’s Troy Williams poured in 55 in last season’s Governors’ Cup.

Lofton could have shattered that mark and even inched closer to the 87 posted by Swift’s Tony Harris in the 1992 PBA Third Conference but was benched for good in the last seven minutes of the game when Meralco was comfortably ahead, 111-74.

Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said they may have to re-think their original plan of having Lofton, previously hired to reinforce in the EASL, step in only as a temporary replacement import.

Rookie Fran Yu delivered a career-high 31 points and Arvin Tolentino added 25 points for the Batang Pier, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.

The scores:

First game

Meralco (125) — Lofton 54, Maliksi 18, Newsome 11, Almazan 11, Banchero 8, Quinto 8, Bates 6, Dario 2, Pasaol 2, Hodge 2, Torres 0, Pascual 0, Rios 0.
NorthPort (99) — Yu 31, Tolentino 25, Calma 10, Jois 9, Paraiso 8, Amores 5, Munzon 5, Chan 2, Caperal 2, Ayaay 2, Taha 0, Salado 0, Flores 0.
Quarterscores: 16-25, 49-48, 92-64, 125-99.

Second game

Magnolia (94) — Bey 31, Laput 14, Jalalon 11, Barroca 10, Dionisio 10, Dela Rosa 6, Sangalang 4, Ahanmisi 3, Lee 2, Reavis 2, Tratter 1, Mendoza 0.
San Miguel (90) –Aska 29, Cruz 16, Tautuaa 12, Lassiter 9, Brondial 9, Ross 7, Perez 4, Mallilin 2, Bulanadi 2.
Quarterscores: 17-19, 44-39, 68-67, 94-90.

Games Wednesday:

(PhilSports Arena)
4 p.m. — Terrafirma vs. Converge
8 p.m.– Meralco vs. NLEX