ALIVE AND KICKING: Lucero shines as Hotshots slam Dyip

Magnolia executed down the stretch to neutralize Terrafirma’s late threat in an 89-84 victory that breathed life into its flickering playoffs bid in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup Friday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

With the winless Dyip closing in by just three points, Hotshots import Ricardo Ratliffe worked his magic underneath the basket for the high-percentage shot with 29.3 seconds remaining to take the fight out of Terrafirma.

The much-needed victory gave Magnolia its third win in eight starts to remain in the thick of the race for a quarterfinals seat.

Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero expected a tough fight from the Dyip and he was right.

The game saw 19 lead changes and no team led by more than seven points.

“I think they played well. For the last three games they played well,” Victolero said of the Dyip.

“I told the players that this game is a matter of who wants it more because their backs are also against the wall. It’s also a do-or-die situation for Terrafirma. It’s another grind-out game for us,” he added.

Ratliffe finished with 32 points and had 14 rebounds to pace the Hotshots, who started the year on a high note following a heartbreaking Christmas Day loss to Barangay Ginebra to close 2024.

Magnolia shattered a 75-75 deadlock with a 7-0 run punctuated by a Ratliffe basket with 4:03 left.

The Hotshots answered Dyip’s consecutive treys and held an 87-81 lead after Zav Lucero nailed two foul shots with under two minutes left.

Terrafirma, however, gave Magnolia one last scare after Brandon Edwards drilled a triple and forced a turnover on Mark Barroca off the inbound with 1:08 left.

But Stanley Pringle, who was having a great scoring night, missed his floater as Ratliffe made his basket on the other end. Pringle came out empty on his three-point attempt as Magnolia secured the victory.

“Credit to the players. There’s pressure but they’re always there to execute on both ends of the floor,” Victolero said.

Lucero went 12-of-12 from the free throw line to finish with 17 points on top of six rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in almost 28 minutes of play.

“I don’t think we needed any more fuel. Everyone could see how our games have turned out. Christmas was Christmas but we lost a lot of tough ones. It’s kind of just we gotta win games, no more fuel than that. Either we win or we go home,” Lucero said of the team’s inspired play.

Ian Sangalang had 13 points and seven boards while rookie Jerom Lastimosa got 11 for the Hotshots, who played sans veteran guard Paul Lee.

The Dyip suffered their ninth loss in as many outings despite Pringle’s 22-point performance.

Edwards had a rather quiet night with 14 points on 5-of-13 field goal shooting and eight rebounds while Kevin Ferrer got 11 for the also-ran Terrafirma.

The scores:

MAGNOLIA (89) — Ratliffe 32, Lucero 17, Sangalang 13, Lastimosa 11, Dionisio 8, Barroca 4, Alfaro 2, Ahanmisi 2, Balanza 0, Abueva 0, Laput 0, Dela Rosa 0, Mendoza 0.

TERRAFIRMA (84) — Pringle 22, Edwards 14, Ferrer 11, Nonoy 8, Paraiso 7, Manuel 6, Catapusan 5, Romeo 3, Carino 2, Hernandez 0, Melecio 0, Ramos 0.

Quarters: 28-25, 41-40, 68-66, 89-84.