Magnolia gifted new head coach LA Tenorio an 80-73 debut win over no less than his former team Barangay Ginebra for an impressive start in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.  

The Hotshots came out with all cylinders smoking as they steamrolled past the Kings in a wire-to-wire domination that saw them lead by as many as 15.

Tenorio bested his former Ginebra coach Tim Cone in their first meeting on the opposite side of the court after a decade of partnership in the Kings’ side of the storied ‘Manila Clasico’ rivalry.  

“I really appreciate their effort, their fight, going to this game, their focus, going to this game,” the Magnolia tactician said.

“I guess they want to win this first win for me and I appreciate that.”

Zav Lucero scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds with four assists, four steals and one block in 32 minutes of action to lead Magnolia, which opened with a 10-2 and never looked back from there.

Jerom Lastimosa finished with 14 points Javi Gomez De Liano announced his return to the league with 14 markers while Rome Dela Rosa got 12 for the Hotshots, who scored 27 turnover points off the Kings’ 21 errors.     

Magnolia erected a comfortable 63-48 cushion in the third period and managed to keep Ginebra at bay the rest of the way.

Stephen Holt led the Kings with a double-double of 16 points and 17 rebounds.

Jeremiah Gray got 13 markers while Troy Rosario and Season 49 Rookie of the Year RJ Abarrientos chipped in with 12 and 11 points, respectively, for Ginebra.

Box scores:

MAGNOLIA (80) – Lucero 17, lastimosa 14, Gomez de Liano 14, dela Rosa 12, Sangalang 9, Barroca 7, Laput 5, Dionisio 2, Lee 0, Verano 0, Alfaro 0, Escoto 0

GINEBRA (73) – Holt 16, Gray 13, Rosario 12, Abarrientos 11, Estil 9, J.Aguilar 5, Cu 3, Torres 2, David 2, Thompson 0

Quarters: 23-14, 36-30, 61-48, 80-73