Magnolia Hotshots coach LA Tenorio knows better than most what the Meralco Bolts can do in the playoffs. After all, he has met these same Bolts when the stakes are highest—many times.
It is why he wants his Hotshots to move on quickly from their 95-89 win over Meralco on Wednesday, which extended this quarterfinals pairing to a decider. For him, all Magnolia did was live another day.
“We haven’t achieved anything with this win. We just extended our lives [but] we’ll take this. We’ll take this win, but no time to celebrate,” he said postgame. “I know them [Bolts] very well. They will come back with a lot of energy…”
The Hotshots and Bolts meet again on Saturday with a seat in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semis at stake.
Hotshots Respond to Tenorio’s Challenge
For Tenorio, Magnolia is a win away from reaching the semis because his Hotshots have been heeding his challenges.
“Credit to the guys, they responded to my challenge,” Tenorio said. “I told them we’re playing a great team, a systematic team. I know how they play in the playoffs, with the bench that they have. But really, credit to our guys, they fought and battled to win the game.”
The Hotshots battled, all right—at one point building as much as a 16-point lead in the third thanks to a swarming defense and great execution on offense. The Bolts, though, rallied in the fourth to tie things up, but the Hotshots fought just as hard to regain the lead and ultimately seal the deal.
Now, they will need to battle even harder to finish the job on Saturday. And Tenorio is confident his players will once again rise to the challenge.
“I know my players, I trust them, and I believe they will be ready,” Tenorio added.
They better be. Tenorio knows Meralco will be.
