Magnolia weathered a late scare by Phoenix to essay a 110-104 escape and stay alive in the hunt for a quarterfinals seat in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup Thursday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

The Hotshots lived to fight another day and improved to a 4-6 win-loss record while snapping the Fuel Masters’ two-game win streak.

“Another day to live, another opportunity. Of course, credit to the players. We’re really trying to find guys to fill up the big shoes left by (injured) Paul Lee,” Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero said.

Zav Lucero showed the way for Magnolia, scoring 12 of his team-high 20 points in the fourth quarter that kept Phoenix at bay.

“We needed somebody to step up not only in points but also in doing the little things. Zavier made a huge impact in the game and also Peter Alfaro,” Victolero added.

Mark Barroca contributed 22 markers while Ricardo Ratliffe had a double-double of 22 points and 19 rebounds for the Hotshots, who will need to sweep their last two games in the eliminations and hope for a tie at the eighth spot to force a playoff. 

Alfaro, who was elevated from a reserve role after Lee suffered a meniscus injury, contributed 14 points on a perfect 5-of-5 field goal shooting, dished out four assists, pulled down three rebounds with one steal in 20 minutes of action.

The Hotshots built a comfortable 81-67 lead in the last 1:31 of the third period only to see the Fuel Masters rally and make it into a one-possession ballgame 108-104 with 37 seconds left in the game after a Jason Perkins basket.

Barroca missed a three-pointer in Magnolia’s next possession, giving Phoenix one last chance to tie the game with a four-pointer.

However, the Fuel Masters squandered their opportunity with poor execution after the time out as Kai Ballungay was forced to settle for a triple that missed its mark.

Barroca iced the game from the foul line.  

Donovan Smith dropped 40 points but his effort wasn’t enough to save Phoenix from slipping to a 3-6 mark. RJ Jazul and Perkins had 15 points each while Ballungay got 13.

The Scores:

RAIN OR SHINE (127) --- Thompson 25, Nocum 16, Santillan 16, Caracut 13, Asistio 12, Datu 11, Norwood 7, Belga 10, Clarito 8, Tiongson 5, Malonzo 2, Lemetti 0, Ildefonso 0

NORTHPORT (107) --- Jack 39, Munzon 17, Tolentino 19, Flores 8, Cuntapay 5, Nelle 5, Miranda 4, Yu 3, Bulanadi 2, Onwubere 3, Navarro 2

Quarters:  33-18, 62-44, 96-75, 127-107