Magnolia wins most lopsided ‘Clasico’ in decades

Magnolia played with much energy against a lethargic Barangay Ginebra team to score a lopsided 118-88 victory Sunday in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors' Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The 30-point beat down by the Hotshots was the most lopsided triumph in a Manila Clasico encounter since the 2003 Invitationals won by Ginebra over the old Purefoods franchise (112-78) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

It was also Magnolia's largest win since its 118-87 rout of Rain or Shine in last year's Philippine Cup.

The Hotshots took advantage of the absence of Japeth Aguilar who missed his second straight game due to a knee injury.

Christian Standhardinger returned to action after being sidelined by a knee injury in the previous game, but even his comeback could not spark the league's most popular team, which was completely outplayed by Magnolia.

The Hotshots' bench production proved to be too much as they scored 49 points compared to only 10 by the Gin Kings.

Magnolia also scored 27 points coming from Ginebra's 22 turnovers.

For veteran guard Mark Barroca, playing with much energy was the key in taking the fight out of Ginebra and getting its legions of fans less involved in the action.

"I need to stay aggressive and help raise the energy of my team," said Barroca. "The past few games, I wasn't much aggressive, so I made it a point to be more aggressive this time."

Magnolia coach Chito Victolero was actually preparing for an all-out battle for 48 minutes — and even more against Barangay Ginebra.

"We were actually preparing for 53 minutes, in case the game goes to overtime," said Victolero. "You need that kind of mentality against a very talented team like Ginebra."

The Scores:

MAGNOLIA 118 – Hester 28, Barroca 21, Abueva 18, Lee 18, Dela Rosa 9, Wong 6, Jalalon 5, Dionisio 5, Escoto 5, Ahanmisi 3, Corpuz 0

GINEBRA 88 – Brownlee 22, Thompson 19, Standhardinger 17, Malonzo 12, Gray 8, Pinto 8, Mariano 2, Pessumal 0, R.Aguilar 0, Pringle 0, Tenorio 0

QUARTERS: 23-18, 59-37, 87-71, 118-88