Over the first three quarters of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Game Three meeting with the Magnolia Hotshots in the 2018 PBA Governors’s Cup semifinals on Wednesday, LA Tenorio’s shooting percentage was an eyesore.
He was only shooting 1-of-7 from the field, 0-of-4 from beyond the arc. But when it mattered, the 12-year league veteran delivered.
Tenorio first sank the go-ahead floater with 15 seconds to play off a Justin Brownlee screen. Then he hit both of his freebies with six-tenths of a second left, to help his Gin Kings escape from the Hotshots’ clutches with a 107-103 victory.
Tenorio made 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting with five boards and five dimes.
“Actually struggling ako the whole game, medyo iba yung pakiramdam ko today eh,” said the 34-year-old. “Na-shoot siya eh.
“Well, opportunity yun na nabigay sa akin on that particular possession. Might as well take it, ‘di ba?
“Everyone is expecting Justin to get the ball. We got nothing to lose in that possession. I was just thinking of being aggressive and see what was gonna happen,” he added.
Tenorio’s end-game heroics meant a lot for the Gin Kings, as they have extended their season – and kept their Governors’ Cup reign alive – for one more game. But the Ateneo de Manila all-time great insisted that there’s no reason to be happy yet.
“We only got one game.
“Inside the locker room after the game it was nothing, we moved on right away and are thinking about Friday’s game right away,” he pointed out.
