TIM Cone sees Magnolia as an even dangerous team come the PBA Philippine Cup playoffs especially once new acquisition William Navarro settles down with the Hotshots.
Navarro played his first game with the Hotshots Sunday against the Barangay Ginebra Kings, who rallied back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to prevail, 85-81.
But despite the win, Cone knows the Hotshots are bound to get better heading to the quarterfinals with Navarro in the mix.
"They are going to be even better when Navarro settles in on their team," said the Ginebra coach
"He is not quite settled yet. But when he gets settled, they are going to be really, really tough to handle in the playoffs."
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The 28-year-old Navarro played 16 minutes and finished with five points and four rebounds in his first outing as a Hotshot since being acquired in a trade with Northport for Calvin Abueva, Jerrick Balanza, and a future second round draft pick.
It's obvious according to Cone, Magnolia counterpart Chito Victolero is just trying to test the water and see where Navarro exactly fits in the team system.
"They are still trying to search that out. I think they are trying to figure out where he fits. That's basically what you do when you bring somebody in that's really talented," said Cone.
"It's hard to figure out exactly where he fits right away because you want to use all of his skills. They will figure it out and they will be better with it no doubt."
Despite the loss, Magnolia kept the top spot but now tied with NLEX both at 7-2 (win-loss) slate.(RG)
