Magnolia Hotshots sealed their place in the Top Four of the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations after rallying past TNT Tropang Giga, 88-83, on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.

Trailing 66-63 late in the third, Magnolia unleashed a game-defining 16-0 blitz bridging into the final period to take control of the match. Key contributions came from Rome dela Rosa, Zavier Lucero, Rafi Reavis, and Aris Dionisio, giving the Hotshots a 13-point cushion in the fourth quarter.

Lucero delivers again

Zavier Lucero continued his standout conference with a game-high 24 points, while William Navarro added 13 and Mark Barroca finished with 11. Magnolia snapped a two-game skid and ended the eliminations with an 8-3 record, securing the all-important twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

“We needed this win,” said Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero, whose squad bounced back strong after tough losses to Barangay Ginebra and NLEX.

TNT faces uphill battle in playoffs

TNT fell to 6-5, failing to break into the Top Four and now faces a twice-to-win disadvantage in the quarterfinals. The loss also dealt a blow to their grand slam hopes, with Coach Chot Reyes and his Tropang Giga entering the playoffs as the 6th or 7th seed.

RR Pogoy led TNT with 18 points, while Calvin Oftana chipped in 15. Poy Erram and Jordan Heading scored 12 each, and Kelly Williams added 10. Despite staying close early and holding a 23-21 edge after the first quarter, TNT couldn’t recover from Magnolia’s fourth-quarter surge.

Magnolia held a 49-43 halftime lead before the tight third quarter turned into their game-changing run. TNT has now dropped two straight, including a 97-78 loss to Barangay Ginebra prior to this match.