Magnolia rallies from 20 down to stun San Miguel for 1-0 lead
Underdogs both in paper and in championships, Magnolia pulled the rug from under San Miguel with a 105-103 comeback win to draw first blood in their PBA Philippine Cup Finals duel Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Hotshots, who even trailed by as much 20, just came out firing in the payoff period and stifled the defending champions to take control of the game.
Mark Barroca and Ian Sangalang gave the Hotshots their biggest lead of the game at 103-100 with 43 seconds left before Marcio Lassiter tied the game with a three.
Sangalang, who was phenomenal for Magnolia with 29 points along with nine rebounds, managed to fish a foul from reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo and scored on two freebies to put the Hotshots ahead for good in the ensuing play.
The Beermen had a chance to tie or take the lead, but didn’t get a good shot off their last possessions in the last 16.5 seconds.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is on Sunday at Mall of Asia Arena.
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