Mark Barroca flashes old form as Magnolia draws first blood in QF duel vs NLEX

Mark Barroca reached a milestone in his career in steering Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots past NLEX, 98-89, as they drew first blood in their best-of-three quarterfinals showdown in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday.

The seasoned sniper flashed his veteran form after unleashing 24 points, including 18 in the first half, to go along with seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

The 36-year-old guard also joined the league's 5,000-point club, becoming only the 94th player to complete such a feat.

The Hotshots had an explosive offense in the first half, where they built a lead as big as 17, 64-47, after outscoring the Road Warriors, 40 to 21, in the second period behind Barroca's mighty shooting.

But Road Warriors closed the gap to a single digit, 70-78, with Anthony Semarad and Don Trollano leading the rally. The duo accounted for 16 points as part of that 23-14 spurt.

But a triple from Adrian Wong helped Magnolia restore a double-digit lead, 81-70, to cap off the third period.

Barroca then put up the finishing kick, drilling a jumper that made it a 94-83 affair with 4:52 left to spare in the fourth as NLEX could not complete its comeback attempt.

Aside from Barroca, Paul Lee and Calvin Abueva chipped in 13 points each as Magnolia moved a win away from a semifinals seat.

Semerad finished with a team-high 19 markers and six rebounds while Trollano and Calvin Oftana paced NLEX with 15 points each in the loss.

Magnolia will now look to close out NLEX on Friday for Game 2 of the series at 6 p.m. for the right to face the winner of the QF series between TNT and Converge.

—JMB, GMA News