Elder statesman Raffy Reavis turned back the hands of time with a vintage performance at crunch time to steer Magnolia into the playoffs after a 108-100 disposal of Terrafirma in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup on Friday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero relied on the slender 46-year-old big man to bring order back after the Dyip mounted a counterattack in the fourth period that erased Magnolia’s once imposing 15-point lead.

Reavis’ leadership and hustle as well as timely baskets from Ian Sangalang and Mark Barroca pulled the Hotshots to their sixth win in 10 outings and ended a two-game losing skid.

The victory came five days after the Hotshots suffered a 51-74 embarrassment at the hands of Meralco for the franchise’s all-time lowest output.

“During our preparation, I told them that we still have control of our destiny. We just need to bounce back hard, play hard and have that playoff mentality. It showed in the game today and my players know how important this game is,” Victolero said.

Sangalang finished with 23 points and eight rebounds, Barroca added 21 points on eight-of-16 shooting while Paul Lee punched in 17 points, seven assists and five boards for Magnolia.

Reavis had a double-double outing of 10 points on perfect five-of-five shooting clip and hauled 13 rebounds on more than 26 minutes of action.

He played a crucial part in staving off the furious comeback of Terrafirma hitting a big basket to give Magnolia a 99-95 lead with 2:50 remaining. Reavis also pulled down important boards and good defensive stops before Sangalang and Barroca finished off the Dyip in the closing 9-2 run.

“Raffy is a big factor for us not only in the court but also outside the court. He’s our leader, he’s our captain ball,” Victolero said.

Jio Jalalon returned to action after missing a couple of games due to a knee injury, scoring seven points with five assists, three boards and two steals for the Hotshots, who played without Calvin Abueva for the second straight game due to hip issues.

Magnolia built a 15-point separation, 68-53, with 5:59 left in the third quarter after Joseph Eriobu completed a three-point play.

But it wasn’t a safe gap as Magnolia watched their advantage slowly evaporate before Juami Tiongson tied it at 92 with a booming trey in the last 5:23 of the game.

Stephen Holt knotted the last deadlock at 95 with 4:03 remaining from a long bomb before Victolero sent in Reavis to steady Magnolia at the closing stretch.

Terrafirma tasted its sixth defeat to finish the elimination round with a 5-6 win-loss record, putting its quarters bid in a dangerous spot with a possible playoff for the last seat in the next round.

Holt submitted a personal conference-best 32 points and eight assists while Tiongson had 14. Isaac Go and Javi Gomez de Liaño had 13 points apiece for the Dyip.