STAR SHOOTER: Lucero powers Magnolia past Blackwater

Magnolia kicked off its campaign with a masterful 106-84 dismantling of Blackwater in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Saturday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Zav Lucero dropped 21 points on 8-of-11 field goal shooting to lead four other Hotshots in double figures for a great start in the season-ending all-Filipino conference.

The lanky winger scored nine in Magnolia’s huge, 32-20, third quarter explosion where it erected a 20-point separation, enough to ward off the very few and far in between fightback by the Bossing.

Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero lauded his team’s defensive effort and impressive ball movement, translating to a game-high 21 assists.

“We just tried to focus on our defense and ball movement during our four weeks of preparation and I think it showed in the game. We played better defense and limited them to under 90 points and that’s good for us,” head coach Chito Victolero said as the Hotshots spoiled Blackwater top guard Sedrick Barefield’s return from injury.

“Also, we had more than 20 assists as testament to our ball movement. Our motion offense was there. Credit to the players, they did a very good job,” added Victolero, who emptied his bench by fielding all 15 available players.

Ian Sangalang had a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, Mark Barroca added 14 while rookie Jerom Lastimosa and Calvin Abueva scored 13 points each for the Hotshots.

Magnolia broke the game open in the second half and built its biggest lead, 106-81, on a Jerick Ahanmisi jumper with 1:03 remaining in the match.

The Hotshots built momentum early, hitting five triples in the opening quarter with Barroca drilling the punctuation trey for a 37-22 lead after the first 12 minutes of action.

Although Magnolia’s offense slowed in the second quarter, it maintained control of the game and kept a safe distance from the Bossing for a seven-point margin entering intermission.

The Hotshots shot 59.3 percent from the field on a balanced scoring in the first half.

Christian David saw his 31-point explosion go down the drain as Blackwater fell victim to the same team in their second straight conference opener pairing.

Barefield, who went down with a foot injury after just four games in the Commissioner’s Cup, had 24 points as the only other Bossing in double-digit scoring. He dished out seven assists and grabbed four rebounds.

The scores:

MAGNOLIA (106) — Lucero 21, Sangalang 15, Barroca 14, Lastimosa 13, Abueva 13, Dela Rosa 8, Lee 7, Dionisio 7, Alfaro 2, Ahanmisi 2, Laput 2, Escoto 2, Reavis 0, Balanza 0, Eriobu 0.

BLACKWATER (84) — David 31, Barefield 24, Casio 6, Escoto 4, Tungcab 4, Ayonayon 4, Mallilin 4, Andrade 2, Chua 2, Guinto 2, Mitchell 1, Caperal 0, Jopia 0, Kwekuteye 0.

Quarters: 37-22, 53-46, 85-66, 106-84.