LA TENORIO shoots for his second win as Magnolia head coach against former team Barangay Ginebra in Friday's PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup tussle at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Tenorio's first game as shot-caller came against the team he played for 13 years. In his PBA coaching debut, the Hotshots defeated the Gin Kings, 80-73, in the league's golden anniversary opener on October 5 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Circumstances are now different for Magnolia coming into this latest 'Manila Clasico,' as Tenorio, now midway into his maiden Comm's Cup campaign as mentor, looks to even their win-loss record at the expense of Ginebra.
The Hotshots started the conference with three straight losses, but now enter the game against their archrival with two consecutive victories, including an 85-70 decision against Terrafirma last Tuesday.
Magnolia is seeking to extend its their winning streak - and that's the sole focus of Tenorio, not on the meeting being a rivalry game.
“Going into that game, we don't want to focus on that. We really want to focus on this game. We focus on Ginebra. 'Manila Clasico,' it just so happened that it is a big game for the PBA and for the fans overall. As a team, we are really focused on the things that we want to worry about,” he said.
Momentum boost for Magnolia
Although the Hotshots have started winning games, the fact is that they (2-3) are still in a tie for ninth-place with Titan Ultra, and they need to continue to collect victories to make it to the playoffs.
“We need to be ready also not because it's Ginebra and 'Manila Clasico,' but we need to get ready because we are still below .500 in the standings. Yes, it's 'Manila Clasico,' it's big, probably bigger than any of the normal game. But I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about us and how we will play on Friday and after Friday,” said Tenorio.
The Gins Kings, on the other hand, will be out to bounce back after suffering an 85-82 defeat to San Miguel in which they squandered a 15-point lead.
“Definitely, we need to play better on Friday because I know Ginebra will be ready after the bad loss last game. I know coach Tim [Cone]. He is going to make his team ready going to Friday's game,” said Tenorio.
The Magnolia coach wants his wards to continue playing good defense, as shown in their previous outing where they limited the Dyip to their lowest scoring output in the conference.
“I have to give credit to the players. They played the game and really focused on defense, which is what we need this coming weekend. Hopefully, we can play defense like this also This is a good win for us going to that game. Good confidence boost for our team going to that game with a two-game winning streak,” said Tenorio.
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