LA Tenorio keeps Magnolia grounded ahead of ‘Manila Clasico’ game against former team Ginebra 

For most teams, a Manila Clasico is the kind of game that naturally pulls attention away from everything else.

The buildup is louder, the emotions are heavier, and the spotlight almost always grows bigger than the actual standings. But for LA Tenorio, Magnolia’s upcoming showdown with Barangay Ginebra is not a night to get swept up in nostalgia or noise.

It is, more than anything, another chance to keep his team moving in the right direction.

Now in the middle of trying to steer Magnolia out of an early hole in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Tenorio has made it clear that the Hotshots cannot afford to treat Friday like just a rivalry event. 

For him, the bigger concern is still what kind of team Magnolia is becoming under his watch.

“Manila Clasico, it’s a big game for the PBA, for the fans, but overall as a team we are really focusing on the things that we want to worry about, the things that we need to get better,” said the 41-year-old.

“‘Yun ang importante sa amin.”

That mindset came into sharper focus after Magnolia’s 85-70 win over Terrafirma on Tuesday, a result that gave the Hotshots their second straight victory after opening the conference with three losses.

The win did not suddenly erase the flaws of Magnolia’s shaky start, but it did offer another sign that the team may finally be finding some traction. With new import Clint Chapman once again leading the way and the veterans settling in around him, the Hotshots have at least begun to look more like themselves.

Still, Tenorio is not acting like the turnaround is complete. Even with the momentum of back-to-back wins, he knows Magnolia is still trying to climb out of a hole — and that the record says there is still plenty of work left to do.

“We’ll be ready also not because it’s Ginebra, and Manila Clasico, but because we need to get ready because we’re still below .500 in the standings,” pointed out the former star PG as they’ve only hiked their record to 2-3.

That may be the most telling part of how Tenorio is approaching this stretch. For someone whose own playing career was deeply tied to Ginebra and to many of the biggest rivalry games in the league, it would have been easy to lean into the emotional side of facing his former team again. Instead, he has chosen to frame the matchup through urgency and development.

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#WATCH: GOOD WIN AHEAD OF CHALLENGING NEXT TWO GAMES

LA Tenorio and Clint Chapman say Magnolia’s defense has been gaining ground ahead of their big games against Ginebra and San Miguel #ReadMore https://t.co/ljDPPaiMHk

@justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times #PBA50 pic.twitter.com/6x9Ydh7hkx

— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) April 7, 2026

That says a lot about where Magnolia is right now.

The Hotshots are not entering Friday as a team chasing drama. They are entering it as a team trying to stabilize its campaign, level its record, and continue adjusting to the new system being introduced by a first-year head coach still shaping the group in his own image.

That challenge becomes even tougher considering the opponent. Ginebra is coming off an 85-82 loss to San Miguel, a game in which the Kings let a 15-point lead slip away before falling on a late Don Trollano corner three. It was the kind of defeat that tends to sharpen the focus of Tim Cone-coached teams rather than shake them.

And Tenorio knows that better than most. Having spent years under Cone and with Ginebra, he understands exactly how dangerous the Kings can become after a frustrating loss. That familiarity is not making him comfortable — if anything, it is making him more cautious.

“I know Ginebra will be ready after the bad loss last game. I know Coach Tim, he’s gonna make his team ready going into Friday’s game,” he said.

That is part of what makes this version of the Manila Clasico a little more layered than usual.

On one side is a Ginebra team trying to recover quickly and get back above .500. On the other is a Magnolia squad beginning to string wins together, but still trying to define itself under a new voice on the sidelines.

And somewhere in the middle of all that is Tenorio, one of the most recognizable former faces of the rivalry, now trying to lead from the other bench without letting the occasion distract from the process.

That may be his biggest task right now. Because while Friday’s game will naturally come with all the energy and emotional charge that Manila Clasico always carries, Magnolia’s season will not be decided by one rivalry result alone. 

What matters more is whether the Hotshots continue to grow sharper, more disciplined, and more comfortable in the way Tenorio wants them to play.

That is the part he seems most locked in on. “Yes, it’s Manila Clasico, it’s big, probably bigger than any of the normal games, but I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about us, how we will play on Friday, and then after Friday. ‘Yun lang yung importante sa akin ngayon,” he said.

And for Magnolia, that may be exactly the right mindset to have. Because if the Hotshots are going to turn their campaign around for real, it cannot just be about winning the loudest games. It has to be about becoming steady enough to win beyond them too.

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