![Magnolia import Tyler Bey gets to the rim against Phoenix in the PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals.](https://sports.inquirer.net/files/2024/01/IMG_0564_PBA-commissioners-cup-semifinals-Magnolia-Phoenix_Tyler-Bey-620x413.jpg)
Magnolia import Tyler Bey sticks to the rim against Phoenix in the PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
How Magnolia found a way to survive Wednesday's rough and tumble opening act against Phoenix could be the theme of how either team can win their games PBA Commissioner's Cup Semi-final series.
„We just couldn't find our rhythm,“ coach Tito Victorero admitted after the Hotshots' 82-79 victory over the Fuel Masters at Smart Araneta Coliseum. “I told them they have to grind every possession and they have to show mental toughness.”
Magnolia endured a game in which neither team hit at least 40 percent of their shots, and import Tyler Bey ended his own woes with a 3-point play off a dropoff pass from Paul Lee with 1:27 left. I shook it off. .
After defeating TNT in the quarterfinals, Bey, seen as perhaps the biggest key in Magnolia's ambitions to win its first PBA title since the 2018 Governors Cup, made a big deal of his team's ultimate mission in Game 2. I look forward to seeing new events that will challenge me.
„For me, I don't feel any pressure. I just have to learn and keep going,“ Bey said. „It's an important game, the second game (of the series). For us, we have to go back to the drawing board and get better and learn from our mistakes.“
He had 23 points and 10 rebounds, but was 8-of-23 from the floor and missed all six of his shots from beyond the arc.
But Magnolia will be happy to accept the result after playing its first game since last Wednesday and facing a Phoenix team in a hard-fought two-game quarterfinal match three days after Meralco's loss.
Williams checked.
And an inferior Phoenix team showed no signs of tiring, playing tight defense and playing with purpose as well, even though import Jonathan Williams scored just 11 points, in the third quarter. They led by 9 points.
Only the third time
Jason Perkins showed once again why this conference is arguably the best of his career, scoring 25 points and embodying the physicality of Magnolia's front line, which also includes former Phoenix teammate Calvin Abueva.
Magnolia shot just 39 percent from the field, well below its 45 percent shooting percentage before this series, which ranked third behind sister teams San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra.
Paul Lee was the local leading scorer with 11 points, but was 3-of-10 from the field, and Gio Jalalon was limited to 7 points on 3-of-11 shooting.
But Victorero was pleased with his defense, which held his team under 80 points in the conference, holding the opposing team, the Fuel Masters, to a 37 percent clip.
“If we can maintain this trend throughout the series, I think we’ll have a chance to win,” Victorello said.
„But they do a good job of disrupting our offense, so we also had a hard time scoring against them,“ he added.