Magnolia stakes unbeaten slate vs Phoenix

UNBEATEN Magnolia shoots for its fourth straight win when it battles dangerous Phoenix Super LPG in the first out-of-town game of the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup on Saturday at the Zamboanga City Coliseum.

The 7:30 p.m. game will feature local hometown favorites Mark Barroca of Magnolia and RR Garcia of Phoenix leading their respective teams.

Barroca, who turned 39 last Friday, continues to be the leader of the Hotshots, who won their first three games for the all-Filipino conference.

The former Smart-Gilas guard showed he still has a lot left in his tank when he scored the last four points, including the game-clinching jump shot to seal the Hotshots' 98-95 overtime win against the San Miguel Beermen before the Holy Week break.

The spitfire Magnolia veteran guard averaged an all-around stats line of 8.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.0 steals in the tournament.

Backing up Barroca are veterans Paul Lee, Ian Sangalang, Calvin Abueva, Rome dela Rosa, Zavier Lucero, Jerom Lastimosa and Peter Alfaro.

The Hotshots will be facing a Fuel Masters side that captured their first win for the conference behind its shocking 109-97 win over defending champion Meralco Bolts.

Phoenix dropped its first two games, before the victory over Meralco.

Other than Garcia, Phoenix can rely on Jason Perkins, Tyler Tio, Ricci Rivero and young big man Kai Balungay, who is making heads turn with his double-double averages of 18.7 points and 11.7 rebounds after three games in the tournament.

Magnolia coach Chito Victolero isn't expecting any easy games for the conference, noting that grind-out matches like the one the Hotshots experienced versus the Beermen should no longer be a surprise for them.

"We need this kind of game, an overtime game, a grinding game to test our character and to test where we are at the stage of this tournament," Victolero said.

Magnolia, a known defensive squad, limited the opposition to just 83 points in its first three games this conference.