Buffen gets plenty of support as Magnolia beats Meralco, snaps two-game slump

MAGNOLIA responded well to coach LA Tenorio’s call while taking the cue from KJ Buffen to snap out of its rut with a 112-98 win over Meralco Friday in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Buffen scored 22 of his 26 points in the first half and the rest of the Hotshots followed suit with some heads-up plays in the second half to complete the wire-to-wire win that was their first after a 0-2 start.

“I have to give credit to my players. Ang sinasabi ko lang sa kanila, they just have to believe. They just have to believe na we can battle with these strong teams, tough teams, seasoned teams. Iyon lang ang gusto naming makita,” said Tenorio.

“They responded really well, they practiced hard the whole week, we watched the videos together,” added Tenorio. “Naniwala sila and ginawa nila kung ano’ng kailangan naming gawin for this game.”

Buffen also hauled down 12 rebounds and issued five assists, but Zavier Lucero shrugging off a three-point first half to finish with his own double-double of 20-11, Ian Sangalang hitting his first six shots from the field to wind up with 16 points and Mark Barroca notching 14 points while doing a bit of everything else were too crucial to ignore.

“If you remember, sinabi ko na after our first game na we cannot rely on our import alone. The locals need to produce also. I’m not saying by points, you know? The support of the locals napakalaking bagay na sa import,” said Tenorio.

The loss stopped Meralco’s two-game run and dropped it to 2-2, notwithstanding Antonio Hester’s gamehigh 28 points on top of 10 rebounds.

CJ Cansino, Bong Quinto and Aaron Black chipped in at least 10 points each, but the Bolts found themselves unable to match the Hotshots’ Buffen-led fiery start.

Meralco did manage to muster mini-runs to keep threatening in the second half. Each time, however, Magnolia had a ready answer.

The Hotshots now hope to have gained additional spark while preparing for more upcoming battles, starting with Rain or Shine next Friday followed by the match against Barangay Ginebra three days later.

“A lot of things to still work on, especially on the defensive end. Marami pa kaming lapses. But for us we really needed this win,” said Tenorio. “Napaka-importante ng panalong ito para sa amin. I hope eto ‘yung inaantay naming momentum.” PBA.ph

The Scores:

Magnolia 112 – Buffen 26, Lucero 20, Sangalang 16, Barroca 14, Lastimosa 13, Dela Rosa 9, Lee 6, Jopia 4, Alfaro 4, Andrada 0, Verano 0, Koon 0.

Meralco 98 – Hester 28, Cansino 12, Quinto 11, Black 10, Newsome 9, Banchero 7, Hodge 6, Maliksi 6, Brickman 5, Mocon 2, Bates 2.

Quarters: 31-20; 60-55; 84-77; 112-98.