Magnolia (formerly Star) and Alaska Milk, both without a crown for quite sometime now, take on each other Wednesday night at The Arena in San Juan to start quest back to the top.
Both teams set out for the 43rd PBA season with an intact line-up.
Magnolia coach Chito Victolero has at his disposal practically the same squad he steered to the Final Four in each of the three conferences last season.
Marc Pingris, Mark Barroca, Peter June Simon, Rafi Reavis, Jio Jalalon and their teammates went a game short of making the All-Filipino finale and also booked Top Four finishes in the next two conferences despite health woes.
The Aces were hit harder by injuries, causing the team to scramble all season long.
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Coach Alex Compton and his troops actually showed a good promise in the Philippine Cup only to blow away a twice-to-beat advantage versus Barangay Ginebra in the quarterfinals.
They then struggled with just four wins in the Commissioner's Cup and only three wins in the Governors Cup. They failed to make the playoffs on both occasions.
They hope three prized new recruits could help the team back to prominence.
In Jeron Teng, Ronald Pascual and Davon Potts, the Aces have gained added offensive threats and muscle at the paint.
There will also be new faces on the Alaska bench with Eric Altamirano and Danny Ildefonso enlisted to join Compton's staff on the exit of Louie Alas and Topex Robinson.
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Also added in the Alaska brain trust is longtime Alaska skipper Tony dela Cruz.
Old core players Calvin Abueva, Sonny Thoss, Jvee Casio, Vic Manuel, Chris Banchero, Chris Exciminiano and Kevin Racal could well figure in an early tough showdown versus the Hotshots whose lone new acquisition is rookie Robert Herndon.
