MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATED) The Magnolia Hotshots marked the PBA's return to the Araneta Coliseum with a 114-87 victory against the TerraFirma Dyip on Wednesday afternoon.

The league played inside the historic Quezon City venue for the first time since March 8, 2020, with a smattering of fans present inside the Big Dome.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the PBA played its past two conferences in bubble settings, with no live audiences allowed.

But on Wednesday, fans were finally allowed to watch PBA games in person, and they were treated to a strong showing by the Hotshots who were making their Governors' Cup debut.

The Dyip, which had split its first two games, remained within striking distance for most of the first half with import Antonio Hester doing the heavy lifting on offense.

Calvin Abueva swung the momentum in favor of Magnolia when he drained a half-court shot to beat the buzzer at the half, giving the Hotshots a 46-35 lead entering the break. They then piled it on in the third quarter, where the Magnolia lead reached 21 points, 74-53, after a three-point play by Ian Sangalang with over two minutes to go.

TerraFirma trimmed the deficit to 14 points, 86-72, with still over eight minutes left, but they were unable to come any closer as Abueva, Paul Lee, and import Mike Harris put the finishing touches on Magnolia's big win.

"Makikita natin 'yung first quarter, halos lahat excited. But once we settled down, 'yung depensa namin, gumanda, umayos. So 'yun, nakuha namin 'yung timing," Magnolia coach Chito Victolero said after the game.

"I think defense is the key factor dito. We limited them to under 90 points, and that's a good sign for us," he added.

The Hotshots led by as much as 34 points, 114-80, after Aris Dionisio nailed a three-pointer with just over a minute left in the game.

The Dyip fell to 1-2 in the conference, failing to build on their overtime victory against Rain or Shine last Sunday.

Magnolia, which lost in the Philippine Cup finals to TNT, is off to a 1-0 start.

For Victolero, it was special to have played in front of the PBA fans for the first time in nearly two years.

The Hotshots were the last team to play before an audience on March 8, 2020, losing to the San Miguel Beermen. Three days later, the PBA suspended the All-Filipino Cup because of the pandemic.

"Actually nga, 'yan nga ang sinabi ko sa mga players ko. It's okay to be excited, but we need to control that excitement. At the start, even me, sabik kaming makita 'yung fans, and it adds to the motivation, to the fire," Victolero said.

Harris, a former Best Import, put up 30 points and 15 rebounds in 37 minutes of action. Four Magnolia locals scored in double-digits, with Abueva tallying 17 points and 11 boards, and Lee firing 16 points.

Hester finished with 21 points and eight rebounds for TerraFirma, but sat out the last nine minutes and 17 seconds of the game after a bad fall. Juami Tiongson led the TerraFirma locals with 20 points.

The scores:

MAGNOLIA 114 -- Harris 30, Abueva 17, Lee 16, Sangalang 10, Dionisio 10, Ahanmisi 8, Jalalon 8, Dela Rosa 6, Brill 4, Barroca 3, Laput 2, Corpuz 0, De Leon 0.

TERRAFIRMA 87 -- Hester 21, Tiongson 20, Cabagnot 16, Ganuelas-Rosser 10, Cahilig 6, Pascual 3, Melton 2, Calvo 2, Canson 2, Ramos 2, Batiller 2, Gabayni 1, Adams 0.

Quarter-scores: 18-15, 46-35, 81-64, 114-87.