Much focus will be on Antonio Hester and Wayne Selden.

It could be an explosive showdown as Hester seeks to keep his perfect ride with Magnolia while Selden looks to rebound from a spoiled PBA debut as the Hotshots and the NLEX Road Warriors slug it out in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

And the locals are expected to put their own stuff as the opposing squads hope to be in a better spot at the halfway mark of their elims campaigns.

The Hotshots are at 2-3, having won their first two outings with Hester while the Road Warriors are at 4-1, having been unbeaten until an endgame fold-up on Selden’s league debut versus the Barangay Ginebra Kings on Feb. 8.

Hester, a PBA returnee taking over from Eric McCree, said he’s happy to be of help to the Hotshots, promising to do his share with a hope of propelling the team to the playoffs.

Selden, meanwhile, is looking at an immediate goal of helping the Road Warriors be back on track after that sorry 114-111 loss to Ginebra — the team’s first, after a four-game romp with original import Jonathon Simmons who has since rejoined his team in the Chinese Basketball League.

“I got a responsibility to the team, to the staff, to the coaches to be as good as I can be. Be a leader. Got a little tired down the stretch (against Ginebra) but it is no excuse. The next game, I’ll have more energy, for sure,” Selden said, shortly after his losing PBA debut.

The NBA veteran actually had a solid outing with 43 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals that went for naught as the Gin Kings stole the game on a 13-3 windup.

“We just got to make stops down the stretch. We missed opportunities to get stops,” said Selden. “Gave up a couple threes. We got to be better to close the game. We got to be able to finish the game. We ran out of gas. We’ll be better next game.”

Selden and his teammates, however, are facing an inspired squad in their bounce back bid.

Hester and the Hotshots are on a high, coming off two straight wins, the last one against Clasico nemeses Ginebra Kings.

Magnolia pricked the Ginebra bubble with a near wire-to-wire domination marked by a 28-18-9 point-rebound-assist tally from Hester and solid contributions from Mark Barroca, Calvin Abueva and Paul Lee.

The downside was Jio Jalalon writhing in pain after he fell on Stanley Pringle’s foot from a jump shot late in the game. The question is whether he’s ready to play against the Road Warriors.

Magnolia also has a health problem with Ian Sangalang.