Magnolia Hotshots veteran Ian Sangalang in action against Hong Kong Eastern in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup. Photo from PBA. MANILA — The Magnolia Hotshots earned a crucial victory to keep their hopes of entering the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup playoffs.

The Chito Victolero-coached team dominated Hong Kong Eastern, 107-78, during their Sunday evening faceoff at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, Rizal.

Ricardo Ratliffe, Jerom Lastimosa, and Zav Lucero did wonders for the Hotshots by combining for 65 points, and they tallied 25, 20, and 20, respectively.

Ratliffe also contributed 16 rebounds with seven assists and two steals, Lastimosa chipped in five boards and four dimes, while Lucero grabbed nine rebounds, and these, according to Victolero, were a reflection of how desperate they were coming into the contest.

“The word was survival. We tried to approach this game with a sense of urgency, with the proper mindset,” he said after the game wherein they led by as much as 29 while also limiting the guests to only 78 points.

“And that was our calling, our defense. With our backs against the wall, we’re in a do-or-die situation, so we went to our strength, which is our defense.”

“In our last practices, they were so focused, they have the proper mindset, and our goal is to survive. Now, we live another day,” added Coach Chito.

Also crucial in Magnolia’s win was veteran big man Ian Sangalang, as the San Sebastian College-Recoletos alum produced 14 points with four rebounds and two assists.

“Alam ko, this game will not be an easy game for us. Alam naman natin yung Eastern, nasa taas sila,” said Sangalang. “Pero hindi kami pwedeng matalo sa laro na ‘to, so good thing, nabigay namin lahat ng gusto namin ngayong gabi.”

Magnolia was only leading by five after the first 12 minutes of action, 24-19, but they turned it up a notch in the second — mostly on the defensive end — by limiting Hong Kong to only 12 points to their 26.

For Sangalang, this was a result of how they wanted to avoid early elimination as they are still fighting with four teams for the last two playoff spots.

“Kailangan pa rin naming maging positive,” he pointed out. “Andito na ‘to eh, so kailangan, positive lang kami. Kung mag mumuokmok lang kami, wala talagang mangyayari.”

”Ngayon, may chance ulit kami, so focus lang kami sa next game namin,” he added, as the Hotshots improved to 5-6, currently tied with the San Miguel Beermen and the NLEX Road Warriors.

After this, Magnolia never looked back and pounced on their opponents until the final buzzer sounded, and they will again fight for the playoff lives on Friday, January 31 when they take on the Meralco Bolts at 5:00 p.m.

On the other hand, despite Christopher McLaughlin’s 20-point, 10-rebound game, Hong Kong would now be settling for a 7-4 record right before they conclude the eliminations on Wednesday, 5:00 p.m., against NLEX.

The Scores:

Magnolia 107 – Ratliffe 25, Lastimosa 20, Lucero 20, Sangalang 14, Barroca 11, Dela Rosa 8, Abueva 5, Alfaro 4, Lee 0, Dionisio 0, Laput 0.

Eastern 78 – McLaughlin 20, Yang 14, Lam 13, Cao 9, Blankley 9, Guinchard 4, Cheung 3, Pok 3, Chan 2, Zhu 1, Xu 0.

Quarterscores: 24-19, 50-31, 78-56, 107-78.