By Vivem Soriano
Eagle News Service
Injury-ridden Magnolia Pambansang Manok relied on their young guns to claim a 106-99 win over a determined NLEX Road Warriors and take a 2-1 series lead in their semifinals matchup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Magnolia entered the game without two of their veteran players, with veteran big-man Marc Pingris missing at least 6 months after suffering an ACL tear during Game 1 against NLEX, and guard Justin Melton suffering a pulled hamstring in Game 1 as well.
But the young players of Magnolia stepped up and led the charge.
Sophomore guard Jio Jalalon led the Pambansang Manok with a career-high 25 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists while Ian Sangalang added 24 points and pulled down 7 rebounds.
The game was tied at 87-all in the 4th quarter before Jalalon and Sangalang led a 10-2 run to put Magnolia ahead for good at 97-89.
Sangalang extended the lead to 9 with a shot down low to further put the game away from the hands of NLEX.
Rom dela Rosa added 17 points for Magnolia while Paul Lee also contributed 14 points.
Rookie phenom Kiefer Ravena led the NLEX Road Warriors with 20 points.
His backcourt partner Kevin Alas added 15 with veterans JR Quiñahan and Larry Fonacier contributing 13 and 10 points respectively.
Magnolia Pambansang Manok will gun for a commanding 3-1 lead over the NLEX Road Warriors in Game 4 of their semifinals series at the Mall of Asia Arena on Friday.
Boxscores:
MAGNOLIA 106 – Jalalon 25, Sangalang 24, Dela Rosa 17, Lee 14, Ramos 7, Simon 7, Barroca 6, Herndon 4, Reavis 2, Brondial 0, Pascual 0.
NLEX 99 – Ravena 20, Alas 15, Quinahan 13, Miranda 11, Fonacier 10, Mallari 9, Al-Hussaini 8, Gotladera 6, Tiongson 3, Taulava 2, Baguio 2.
Quarterscores: 24-27, 53-51, 79-78, 106-99.