MAGNOLIA became the first team to book a quarterfinals seat in the PBA Philippine Cup by turning back Northport, 106-97, in a come-from-behind win on Saturday night at the Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur.

The Hotshots needed a fourth-quarter shooting outburst from veteran Paul Lee to turn the tide in their favor and advance to the playoffs ahead of the rest of the field.

The team of coach Chito Victolero raised its record to 7-1 and broke free from a tie with NLEX for the No. 1 spot in the standings.

The win also atoned for Magnolia’s 119-105 loss to Rain or Shine a week ago, its first in the season-ending conference.

The loss stretched Northport’s skid to five games for a 1-6 slate. The Batang Pier were still on top, 85-83, early in the final period when the Hotshots made the game’s decisive run led by the hot-shooting Lee.

Here are the three takeaways in the second provincial foray in the season-ending conference.

PHOTO: PBA Images

– there was hardly a shadow of the Batang Pier’s best player in Candon. The non-appearance of Tolentino comes in the midst of talk that he’s done with Northport as he’s bound to take his act to the Korean Basketball League next. It has been all downhill for the team since Tolentino started missing games due to what he claimed is a hip flexor injury. With four games left for NorthPort in its eliminations, will the best player of the last Commissioner’s Cup still try to make a graceful exit with the team that gave him the opportunity to become the star player that he is today. Note that Northport’s final four outings will be against TNT, Phoenix, NLEX, and San Miguel.

2. – less than two weeks after his episode with Hodge, the Magnolia big man found himself in another heated confrontation this time against Onwubere. The incident happened in the final 29 seconds of the game and the Hotshots already well ahead, 106-97. Onwubere was whistled for a foul on Lucero, who mocked the Northport guard by applauding the call. Onwubere went over and pushed away the sophomore center, before Aris Dionisio came to the picture and confronted Onwubere. Cooler heads were quick to separate them this time, preventing a similar incident that happened during the Meralco-Magnolia game where both benches emptied. End result had Onwubere and Dionisio being meted with technical fouls each.

PHOTO: PBA Images

the Hotshots beat everybody else by being the first team to enter the quarterfinals, where the Top 4 teams will enjoy a twice-to-beat edge against teams seeded 5-8. The way it’s been playing, Magnolia couldn’t be overlooked as a sure contender for the league’s so-called crown jewel. But could the Hotshots be able to complete what it started? Past Magnolia campaigns where the team also got off to a fast start often fells short in the end, including the 2023-24 Commissioner’s Cup where it was the top-seeded team heading to the playoffs, only to lose to Bennie Boatwright and San Miguel in the finals. Magnolia fans are hoping it’s going to be a happy ending this time for their beloved team.

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