Magnolia’s Nick Rakocevic and Calvin Abueva both notched double-double outings as Magnolia retains their spot at the top of the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup standings.
Magnolia’s bigs dominate the boards
Nick Rakocevic normed 18 points and 18 rebounds while Calvin Abueva came off the bench to pour in 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots beat the Phoenix Super LPG, 90-80.
Jio Jalalon flirted with a triple-double, recording 12 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists, while two other starters, Ian Sangalang and Paul Lee, added 10 markers apiece. Mark Barroca had a solid 11-point outing off the bench to help the Hotshots improve to a 7-1 slate.
Sean Anthony came out with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. Kaleb Wesson had a quiet offensive night, scoring only 9 points on a lowly 27% shooting.
Phoenix’s offensive arsenal was missing in the game as gunners Javee Mocon and RJ Jazul only shot 30% and 26% and finished the game with 10 points and 11 points respectively.
After a trail-blazing five-game winning streak, the Fuel Masters dropped their last two games and now own a 5-5 slate.
Batang Pier completes a comeback behind Tolentino’s career night
Arvin Tolentino posted a career-high 31 points, along with 12 rebounds, as the NorthPort Batang Pier snatched the game from the Terrafirma Dyip, 91-85.
Robert Bolick stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, 7 rebounds 10 assists, while rookie Will Navarro recorded 12 points and seven rebounds as the Batang Pier logged their second straight win and improved to a 5-5 slate.
Prince Ibeh made his presence felt on the defensive end, finishing with 17 rebounds and six blocks to help in NorthPort’s successful comeback.
Lester Prosper had another solid outing, norming 23 points and 18 rebounds, while Juami Tiongson notched 18 points and seven assists as the Dyip dropped their 9th straight loss of the conference.
Alex Cabagnot was the only local, other than Tiongson, to eclipse double-digit scoring for the lowly Dyip. The 39-year-old guard had to carry the offensive load, as he finished the game with 16 markers.
The Dyip led as many as 15 points only to collapse in the final canto en route to a 0-9 slate.
