Magnolia to tighten defensive screws

Games today:

(Ynares Center-Montalban)

5:15 p.m. — Rain or Shine

vs San Miguel

7:30 p.m. — Meralco vs Magnolia

Magnolia head coach LA Tenorio is confident his team has enough firepower to overwhelm any opponent.

However, he’s concerned the Hotshots have seemed to have forgotten they are first and foremost a defensive team.

Tenorio hopes Magnolia will rediscover its vaunted defense when it faces surging Meralco as it eyes a third straight win and a tighter grip of the early lead in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup today at the Ynares Center-Montalban.

The Hotshots and Bolts clash at 7:30 p.m. after Rain or Shine’s bid for back-to-back wins against winless defending champion San Miguel Beer at 5:15 p.m.

Magnolia displayed a good job defensively in an 80-73 opening day win over Barangay Ginebra but favored engaging Titan Ultra to a shootout in an uncharacteristic high-scoring victory, 127-119, last Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Six Hotshots, led by Zav Lucero, reached double-figure scoring, but Tenorio was far from satisfied.

“The concern now is really our defense. Against Meralco, we have to defend. We cannot defend this way. I think that’s a concern,” said the first-year Magnolia mentor.

Tenorio’s worries are valid especially with the Bolts coming off a two-game romp following a 0-2 start.

Meralco completed a comeback from 16 points down to pull the rug from under the Kings, 89-75, on Friday in the second of its three-game swing in five days.

All eyes will be on Chris Newsome, the sparkplug in the Bolts’ uprising, as he tries to help the team sustain momentum before flying to Japan to face the Ryukyu Golden Kings in the East Asia Super League.

“It’s going to be a tough one, but these players thrive in those kinds of situations,” Meralco coach Luigi Trillo said of the team’s challenging grind.

Trillo admits that it will take total team effort to emerge victorious against the Hotshots, who have been playing unselfish basketball, averaging 27.5 assists per game.