MANILA - Magnolia and NLEX had contrasting wins on Wednesday night as the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) made its way back to its longtime home, the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. The Hotshots reopened the fabled arena with a bang in the first game, tripping the Terrafirma Dyip, 114-87. Magnolia, playing for the first time since settling for a runner-up finish in the Philippine Cup in Bacolor, Pampanga, unleashed a huge offensive in the last three quarters to pull away from Terrafirma. Mike Harris announced his return to the PBA by leading the Hotshots with 30 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Calvin Abueva added 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 11 rebounds, and one block. Antonio Hester put up 21 markers, eight boards, one dime, and one swipe, while Juami Tiongson added 20 points and two assists for the Dyip, who fell to 1-2 in the Governors' Cup. Meanwhile, KJ McDaniels tore his former team apart with a 33-point performance, but NLEX had to escape a wild finish against TNT for a 102-100 win in the Wednesday nightcap. The Road Warriors preserved the win despite missing out on huge chances to close out the game earlier. Kelly Williams put the Tropang Giga on the verge of stealing the win after making a left-wing three-pointer with 41 seconds left that cut the Road Warriors' lead to just one, 101-100. He then stole the ball from McDaniels and had a chance to put TNT on top, but Kevin Alas blocked his layup attempt but McDaniels recovered the ball. In the next possession, however, Kris Rosales failed to secure a Calvin Oftana pass and was called for a backcourt violation, giving the Tropang Giga 19.1 seconds to try to take the lead. But McKenzie Moore was caught stepping on the sideline while receiving an RR Pogoy inbound pass, giving the ball back to the Road Warriors with 14.5 seconds left. Don Trollano, however, could only make 1-for-2 from the free-throw line off a Moore foul, and TNT had 10.2 seconds to at least force overtime. NLEX's defense held forth in the crucial seconds as TNT failed to even attempt a shot in the end. McDaniels, who went 13-for-23 from the field, also had eight rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one block to lead the Road Warriors, who are now 3-0 in the standings. Trollano and JR Quinahan each added 15 markers. Kevin Alas, who earlier in the day was named the first PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the season-ending conference, chipped in 11 points, four rebounds, four assists, and one block off the bench. Williams finished with 16 points, six rebounds, two assists, one block, and two steals for the Tropang Giga, who are looking to complete a season double. Moore came up just shy of a triple-double in his PBA debut with 15 markers, 14 boards, and nine dimes with one steal and one block, but he too committed five errors in total. (PNA) }