PBA: Magnolia enters new era under LA Tenorio with romp over Ginebra

The PBA’s historic golden season is underway, and what an opener it was for the Magnolia Hotshots and its new head coach, LA Tenorio, snatching an 80-73 victory against Barangay Ginebra in the Philippine Cup.

The win doesn’t reveal much about the state of either team, but it certainly shows that Tenorio has made a change to a Hotshots team that was once lacking leadership.

Zavier Lucero showed out with 17 points, stamping his place as one of the leaders of the team at a young age. New recruit Javi Gomez de Liano lived up to expectations with 14 points and giving much-needed depth and spacing as a long-range threat.

Lucero is becoming more and more comfortable with his role on the team. His contributions went way beyond scoring, going after loose balls and being a burst of energy whenever he’s on the floor.

Mix that with young and flashy scorers like Gomez de Liano and Jerom Lastimosa, and a veteran core of Ian Sangalang, Mark Barroca, and Paul Lee, and you’ve got a Magnolia team raring to earn their stripes against the likes of the San Miguel Beermen and TNT Tropang 5G.

COACH LA’S FIRST WIN 🐔

Zavier Lucero and the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots open the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup with a solid win over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in this edition of Manila Clasico!#PBA50 #PBA50LID pic.twitter.com/EG8HQftAJV

— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) October 5, 2025

Ginebra, meanwhile, looks lost offensively without Jamie Malonzo. Stephen Holt racked up 16 points, while Jeremiah Gray and Troy Rosario tried their best to contribute with 13 and 12 markers, respectively, but it wasn’t enough.

Rookie of the Year RJ Abarrientos had flashes of brilliance as one of the primary options for Ginebra (finished with 11 points), but he needs more consistent shooting and playmaking to truly lead the Gin Kings.

Former MVP Scottie Thompson had one of his worst games yet after putting up a zero in the scoring tally. Japeth Aguilar, who almost didn’t play due to his hand injury, had a quiet game with five points but remained a threat in the paint.

Rookie Sonny Estil began his PBA career with nine points and looked like he could fill the shoes of Malonzo, but he would need more time (and minutes) to be integrated into Tim Cone’s system.

It may be early, but signs point to a new and hopeful direction for the Hotshots as they look to end their seven-year title drought, while Ginebra needs to wake up and find its scoring identity after the loss of Malonzo.

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