July 28, 2017

Hotshots win first game with Malcolm Hill, add to Aces' woes

ANTIPOLO – Malcolm Hill struggled early on but hit his strides in the crunch as Star added to Alaska Milk’s miseries, carving out a 101-92 win in the PBA Governors Cup at the Ynares Sports Center here Friday night.

Hill scored 12 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter – all in crucial situations – as he lived up to expectation and helped the Hotshots to a second straight win in the season-ending tourney.

Paul Lee and Ian Sangalang took charge early on, firing 18 and 16 points, respectively, for the Hotshots who added to the disappointments of the Aces, dealing Alaska a third loss in the tourney and 11th overall from the last conference.

LaDontae Henton had another productive game with 34 points that went down the drain as the Aces remained on a slump since their last win over Rain or Shine on April 2.

With Hill taking over in the crunch, the Hotshots beat out the Aces in a seesaw battle.

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“We know it’s gonna be a grind. We’re happy we stepped up on defense in the second half. We limited our errors and we limited their transition points,” said Star coach Chito Victolero.

“I challenged the guys to show their desire to win, at ipinakita naman nila -- all of them from Paul Lee to Mon Abundo,” Victolero added.

It’s not lost on Victolero the clutch effort of their new import.

“We know he can do what he did tonight. Kaya nga namin siya nagustuhan,” said Victolero of their sub import to Cinmeon Bowers.

“He’s a player that can play multi-position. He knows how to win and he knows how to involve his teammates. Isa pang maganda sa kanya eh he wants to play defense. Eh yun ang laro namin,” Victolero added.

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Their concern is how to match up with bigger imports.

“We have to prepare him against bigger imports. Yung ang problema namin,” said the Star bench chieftain.

At crunch time versus the Aces, Hill, with a lean frame, struck from the perimeter.

Back-to-back straight-away jumpers by the former Illinois U standout broke the back of
the Aces at 99-91 with 1:11 left to play. (SB)