Magnolia came back from 26 points down to beat Barangay Ginebra, 93-91. Jio Jalalon said, “We came back from 26 points down and we beat the champion, so our morale is really high now. As long as we don’t relax and we don’t stray from our system, we’ll do well.”

Coach Chito Victolero fumed by halftime, unleashing a nudge that revved up the Hotshots. Jalalon scored nine of his 15 points in the third quarter. Tyler Bey added 16 of his 31 points in the final frame. “We just tried to remind the players about starting strong and finishing stronger,” Victolero said.

It was an electric effort for Magnolia, but the game was marred by erratic officiating toward the end. NLEX also suffered a massive hit as Kevin Alas has been diagnosed with a torn left knee ligament.