MANILA, Philippines — Magnolia coach Chito Victolero said the team is open to finding a possible replacement for Shabazz Muhammad, who sat out Friday's game against NorthPort due to a swollen knee. Victolero explained that the weekend will give them a better idea if they will make the import change since they wouldn't want to risk Muhammad's career if ever. "(It's an) Option (to find a replacement). Naghahanap na din kami if he isn't healthy...but we will try to see what will happen the next few days," Victolero said, shortly after Magnolia smothered NorthPort, 110-94 in a battle of import-less squads on Friday. Fortunately for the Hotshots, the Batang Pier also played without import Venky Jois, who is out due to an Achilles injury. Aris Dionisio sparked Magnolia's fiery offensive, firing a career-high 30 points, built around a franchise-record nine three-point shots. The 31-year-old Muhammad already had a knee problem since the Hotshots' game against the TNT Tropang Giga, which ended in an 84-82 loss. In that game, the Utah Jazz's 14th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, scored 30 points and hauled down 17 rebounds. Victolero shared that with a swollen knee since that game, they did not want to force him to play against NorthPort, even though they are playing an important game that has playoff implications for Magnolia. "Shabazz's knee is swollen so we don't want to force him to play and worsen his injury," he shared. Muhammad came into replace Glenn Robinson III two weeks ago. Magnolia will have a two-day break before returning to action on Monday to close the elimination round against Converge in a battle for the no. 3 spot. Both teams are currently tied at 5-4 in the Group A standings. Read The Rest at :