Magnolia’s veteran guard Mark Barroca was named the PBA Player of the Week for his role in helping the Hotshots win eight games in a row including a 98-89 win over NLEX in the best-of-three quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup.
Proving his stature as one of the best guards in both the Magnolia franchise and the entire league, Barroca became the latest member of the 5,000-point club after a steady showing for the third-seeded Hotshots. But the 11-year-veteran did more than just score as he contributed in almost all departments as Magnolia now stands a win away from making it to the semifinals.
The 36-year-old former Far Eastern University stalwart scattered averages of 13.3 points on 40-percent field goal from downtown, laced by 4.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 3.0 steals in three games all won by Magnolia at the tailend of the elims and start of the playoffs.
His stellar outing was highlighted by a 24-point eruption against the Road Warriors in Game 1, where he officially reached 5,000 points and became only the eighth player in Magnolia franchise history to mark the milestone.
The Zamboanga City native also became the 94th player in PBA history (90th local) and only the fourth from the loaded 2011 Rookie Class to achieve the scoring feat, thus earning himself the Cignal Play-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period July 20-24.
“Nagpapasalamat ako sa Panginoon sa career ko at ngayon nga, nakaabot ako ng 5,000 points. Pasalamat ako kay coach (Chito Victolero) at sa mga teammates ko. Kung hindi naman dahil sa kanila, hindi ko rin maaabot it. Bonus lang ‘yung mga award. Ang goal namin is manalo talaga ng championship,” he said.