Magnolia finally ended a four-year title drought on Wednesday night when the Hotshots defeated the Alaska Aces, 102-86, in Game 6 of the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup finals at the Ynares Center.
It was an early Christmas present for the Hotshots as they wrapped up the best-of-7 series, four games to two, to clinch their first PBA crown in four years.
Magnolia’s last championship had come in the 2014 PBA Governors’ Cup when San Mig Coffee, the Hotshots’ team name at the time, defeated Rain Or Shine in five games to complete a Grand Slam under coach Tim Cone.
From there, the Purefoods franchise took a long road back to the top of the PBA mountain, a journey that saw them trade longtime team cornerstone James Yap to Rain Or Shine in exchange for Paul Lee in 2016. Two years later, Lee would drain the game-winning jumper in Game 5 that put the Hotshots on the brink of a title; in Game 6, he had 16 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
Romeo Travis, who played for Alaska in the 2015 Governors’ Cup, led the way for the Hotshots with 32 points, 17 rebounds, and 6 assists. Ian Sangalang (16) and Mark Barroca (13) also reached double-digit scoring for Magnolia.
Barroca was named finals MVP, the second time in his career that he won the award after the 2013-14 Philippine Cup. He averaged 11 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game in the Finals series.
