MANILA – After closing the elimination round on a high note, Magnolia Hotshots head coach LA Tenorio believes his team is more than ready for the PBA 50 Commissioner's Cup playoffs.
Magnolia clinched its third straight win after downing the Meralco Bolts, 93-76 on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. The result secured them the fifth seed, with a 7-5 win-loss record.
READ: Magnolia turns back Meralco rally, clinches fifth seed
Head coach LA Tenorio lauded his team for their effort and mentality, saying they are on the right track to achieving their goal.
"This is a good ano, the past three games actually we've been in a playoff mentality already. I challenge the players, I challenge my team that this kind of game, ito yung magbibigay sa amin ng chance going to the next level," Tenorio said during the post-game press conference.
"What I really like about my team right now is how they responded to that challenge. They really responded well not only in the games, in all our games, but in practice. They're really locked in, they're buying into the system," he added.
While Magnolia has yet to find out who they will face in the playoffs, Tenorio said the team will be prepared whether it will be Meralco or Barangay Ginebra.
"This is a good win for us going into this playoff game. Especially yun nga we need confidence kung Meralco man makakalaban namin we need this kind of confidence na we can, we can match up with this team," Tenorio said.
"Alam mo kahit sino makalaban mo sa taas eh. I mean they're on top four for a reason.... We'll be ready. Definitely. The way we're playing right now, I think, not I think. I'm confident with my players and my team," he explained.
Tenorio is looking forward to the playoffs to see their team be tested, learning from what happened in the PBA 50 All-Filipino Cup.
Last conference, Magnolia entered the playoffs sixth in the standings but got knocked out by the twice-to-beat TNT Tropang 5G.
"Yung failure namin last conference we learned a lot from that one. Agaim it's a completely different situation now. There's a lot of changes also. Plus our import, nakaka-blend talaga import namin. The players love playing with our import and the same way the import loves playing with our locals," he said.
"Definitely maraming learnings. Me also as a rookie coach, maraming learnings fro mthe last conference," Tenorio added.