Golden start for Magnolia’s reboot under LA Tenorio.
As past and present stars celebrated the PBA’s half decade of basketball tradition, the Hotshots hit the ground running in the Season 50 Philippine Cup, beating Barangay Ginebra, 80-73, last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It was Tenorio’s anticipated coaching debut and his new charges deemed it best to mark it with a first win at the expense of his old team and long-time maestro, Tim Cone.
Tenorio, who won seven championships as a player and later playing-assistant for Cone at Ginebra, gave props to his troops for rising to the challenge to get it done in this emotional Manila Clasico opening-night tussle.
‘It’s not about me and coach Tim, it’s about the players of Magnolia and Ginebra,’ he said in his first appearance at the post-game presscon for victorious coaches.
‘I just want to thank the players and my coaching staff, they really guided me kasi alam nila mahirap, especially with the kind of atmosphere tonight. The players were really ready for this game. I really appreciate their effort, their focus. I guess they really want to give this first win sa akin,’ he added.
Zav Lucero dropped 17 points to go with seven rebounds, four assists, four steals and one shot block in leading Magnolia’s charge. Jerom Lastimosa and debuting Javi Gomez de Liano fired 14 apiece as Rome dela Rosa added nine.
The Hotshots unleashed a blistering 10-0 opening salvo to set the tone for the wire-to-wire conquest. They seized big leads that reached as high as 15, at 63-48, then kept the Gin Kings at bay with clutch counters throughout.