Ginebra head coach Tim Cone warned about the potential Magnolia possesses now following the arrival of highly touted forward William Navarro.
The PBA’s winningest mentor opined that the Hotshots could get even tougher to play against once their newest acquisition finds his niche within the traditional contenders, who are currently one of the Season 49 Philippine Cup leaders.
“I mean, Magnolia is great. They’re gonna be better even when Navarro settles in on their team,” he offered. “He’s not quite settled there yet.”
Cone said as much on Sunday night after Navarro made his debut against the Kings in another Manila Clasico affair at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
It was evident, as he said, that the 28-year-old is still in the process of picking up Magnolia’s scheme of things, having spent only three practices heading into the bout, according to opposing coach Chito Victolero.
He logged a total of 16 minutes and 44 seconds and tallied five points on 2-of-6 shooting, four rebounds, and an assist against three turnovers.
Worse, his first game in a Hotshots uniform ended up in disappointment as they bowed to an 85-81 decision — the team’s second loss in three games.
The night belonged to the Kings, who overhauled a 71-61 deficit thanks to the big shots knocked down by Jamie Malonzo, Troy Rosario, and Stephen Holt inside the game’s final 4:21 for yet another classic ‘NSD’ display.
It was, furthermore, a solid redemption for the crowd darlings after losing to Meralco just last Friday by way of an 82-73 result, at the Big Dome as well.
“Jamie hit some big shots down the stretch, made some big plays,” said Cone as Malonzo scored five to lead a 9-2 run toward an 85-79 lead. “I thought RJ had a good night tonight. And Japeth had eight rebounds in the first half.”
“So all those things just kinda came together, and that was our opportunity to beat a really, really good team,” added the former Purefoods head coach.
Still, Cone sticks to his claim that Magnolia will become even more dangerous when Navarro gets to integrate himself with the veteran-laden unit.
“When he gets settled, they’re gonna be really, really tough to handle in the playoffs,” he said. “But tonight we beat a really tough team, so hats off to the players for their ability to bounce back. They did it on their own.”
Who knows, these teams may see each other in the playoffs soon.
#WATCH: Coach Tim Cone proud of Stephen Holt and Ginebra for leaving it all on the floor in their crucial #ManilaClasico win! 🏀
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times#PBA2025 pic.twitter.com/X03SBiPsua
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) June 1, 2025
