Paul Lee broke out of his shooting slump in the playoffs and spearheaded the hot-shooting Magnolia to a 129-100 romp of Rain or Shine and force a do-or-die Game 5 in the quarterfinals of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Struggling the past two games, Lee finally connected on his outside shooting, highlighted by the two four-pointers that opened the floodgates for the Hotshots in the second frame en route to the lopsided victory that tied the best-of-five series to a 2-2 affair.
Lee buried three quadshots in total to finish with 25 points – 15 of which he also poured in the third to keep Rain or Shine at bay. He also added six assists while import Jabari Bird unloaded 30 points to help Magnolia regain their composure after a wild and dramatic Game 3 loss.
Jerrick Ahanmisi also nailed two four-pointers to finish with 14 while Mark Barroca added 10 points, six assists and four steals.
Like in their first win of the series, the Hotshots got their rhythm going behind a second quarter assault with back-to-back four-pointers from Lee and Ahanmisi triggering the run.
The two squads were even tied at the end of the first frame but Magnolia doubled on Rain or Shine’s only 18 points in the quarter with 36 to erect a huge 62-44 lead at the break.
The Elasto Painters got their bearings back in the third frame but the Hotshots were already on simply on the groove and hardly slowed down to keep ROS at bay.
Aaron Fuller had 22 points but his rebounding was still far from his usual number with only 11. Jhonard Clarito added 15 points but fouled out of the contest while Beau Belga, Adrian Nocum and Andrei Caracut had 11 apiece – all of which went down the drain.
The rubber match is set on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Paul Lee bares lethal form from deep as Magnolia romps ROS to force do-or-die Game 5
