Scorching Hot Paul Lee Leads Magnolia to Sixth Straight Win

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Paul Lee’s waxing hot hands set the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on fire as he led the Magnolia Hotshots Chicken Timplados to a convincing 117-92 victory over the Meralco Bolts in the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup on May 14, 2025.

The Chicken Timplados’ win marked their sixth consecutive dub in over a month. What made the win sweeter was that they boosted their chances of securing the no. 1 spot when the playoffs begin due to their untainted 6-0 record in the ongoing regular season.

With Meralco keeping themselves within striking distance in the early minutes of the fourth, Lee played a major spoiler after going unconscious from the field that helped Magnolia pull away for good.

Lee kicked off his personal scoring avalanche in the 6:25 mark of the final period after hoisting a deep four-pointer from the right elbow that gave the Chicken Timplados a 15-point advantage, 98-83.

Although Meralco was able to trade baskets two consecutive times, Lee formally shut Meralco’s door after scoring on a foul-counter bully-ball layup followed by another four-point flamethrower.

The Bolts went cold in the most unfortunate stretch in the fourth which Lee capitalized, as he sucked the life out of Meralco with back-to-back demoralizing four-pointers that stretched Magnolia’s advantage to 22 points.

After that scoring frenzy, Magnolia’s head coach Chito Victolero pulled out Lee, as the enormous lead that they had built was too much for the Bolts to cover with only three minutes remaining in the ball game.

Lee turned back the hands of time and flashed a vintage performance of 27 points built from four made four-pointers alongside four rebounds and three assists.

It was still a quiet night for Lee in the first half as most of his shots were rattling in and out of the rim. The veteran scoring machine then equipped his jet pack in the second half and did most of his damage in the final canto.

Backstopping Lee during Magnolia’s sixth straight dub was his longtime front-court co-star Ian Sangalang, who chipped in a near double-double of 16 markers and nine rebounds.

Aside from the superstar duo, the trio of Zavier Lucero, James Laput, and Rome dela Rosa also delivered significant outings with 11 points each.

“We’re not backing down on anything. We give emphasis doon sa physicality ng Meralco. Palagi naman ganyan eh; it’s a defensive battle. We need to grind all throughout the 48 minutes,” said Magnolia head coach Victolero after the huge win.