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Hotshots dump Road Warriors for last PBA quarters slot

MANILA, Philippines -- The PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals is set.

The Magnolia Hotshots clinched the eighth and final seed after decimating the NLEX Road Warriors, 112-81, Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Magnolia broke the game wide open in the second half and never squandered the double-digit lead to take the final quarterfinal spot.

Ricardo Ratliffe carried the Hotshots on his broad shoulders with 32 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Zav Lucero added 14 points, six rebounds and three assists off the bench.

The two teams were tied at the half, 44-all, after Magnolia stormed back from a double-digit deficit early on.

Come the third, the squads were still tied at 50 early on after a pair of free throws by Robert Bolick.

But a 15-2 run capped by a layup by Calvin Abueva tipped the scales firmly on the side of the Hotshots, 65-52.

A 9-2 run by the Road Warriors sliced the lead to five, 62-67.

But from that point, Magnolia uncorked a 23-5 run capped by back-to-back shots by Ricardo Ratliffe to take a 90-69 edge with 8:15 remaining in the game.

The 31-point spread at the end of the game was the Hotshots’ biggest, as they continued to pounce on their misfiring opponents.

“I told them at halftime, start to dominate them on defense. We had a lot of mistakes in the first half, we were so tentative. We had a lot of turnovers in the first half. But I told them to stick to our strength, which is our defense,” Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero told reporters after the game.

“We want them to have a hard time executing their offense. So, credit to all the players,” he added.

Rome dela Rosa and Ian Sangalang added 13 markers each, while Mark Barroca had 11.

Robert Bolick finished with a team-high 27 markers for NLEX, with 17 coming in the first half. He also had six dimes and two boards.

Javee Mocon and Kevin Alas had 13 and 12, respectively, while import Michael Watkins struggled with just 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting, to go with 14 rebounds and four blocks.

With the win, the Hotshots will take on the top-seeded NorthPort Batang Pier in the best-of-three first round of the playoffs.

The Batang Pier won over Magnolia, 107-103, in their

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