Magnolia made it two wins in two games under new coach LA Tenorio after defeating the Calvin Abueva-less Titan Ultra, 127-119, in the PBA Philippine Cup on Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Veterans Mark Barroca and Ian Sangalang backed up Zavier Lucero and Jerom Lastimosa as the Hotshots overcame the determined Giant Risers in a high-scoring battle that kept Tenorio unbeaten in his role on the sidelines.
Barroca finished with 16 points, four rebounds and seven assists while Sangalang scored 21 on top of five rebounds to show why the two remain key fixtures in Magnolia’s quest to end its long title drought.
Lucero had another big game for the Hotshots with 23 points and 17 rebounds, Lastimosa had 13 points, four rebounds and six assists while Russel Escoto pumped in 16 points off the bench.
The Hotshots won the first of their two games in three days, with the next being the Meralco Bolts on Sunday at Ynares Center in Rodriguez, Rizal.
Titan Ultra absorbed its second straight defeat and fell to 1-2 after missing Abueva, who is still nursing a hamstring injury sustained against Converge.
That denied the chance of Abueva facing his former team, which dealt him to the then-NorthPort franchise during the eliminations of last season’s Philippine Cup for William Navarro.
Abueva was even slapped with two technical fouls for improper bench decorum as he constantly argued his case against the officials.
Joshua Munzon scored 28 points plus six assists and three steals for the losing Giant Risers, whose next game is against the TNT Tropang 5G on Oct. 24 at the original Ynares Center in Antipolo.