LA Tenorio couldn’t feel more grateful for the support he received as it helped put behind his endgame blunder that led to Ginebra bowing to NLEX in Game 3 of the PBA Governors’ Cup semis last Sunday.
The veteran floor general admitted after their heartbreaking 85-86 defeat that he might find it hard to move on from that situation. Then a ‘heart-to-heart talk’ with no less than Gin Kings governor Alfrancis Chua enabled him to recover.
“After talking to Boss Al … He talked to me really heart-to-heart about it. After that, I’m okay,” said the 15-year pro out of Ateneo de Manila.
“Sabi nga niya dapat ang sinabi ko raw sa interview ‘I f***** up.’ Ganun daw dapat sinabi ko. Well, it happened. As a vet, ‘di mo na dapat talaga dadamdamin yun, and you’ll carry it into the next game. He trusted me.”
Without any more baggage, Tenorio was back to his old self in Game Four on Wednesday. He produced 14 points as he helped the Barangay bounce back and boot out the Road Warriors by way of a 112-93 blowout/
Besides Chua, the decorated cager also thanked the rest of the Gin Kings, from his teammates to the coaches, for helping him out.
“We rallied together coming to this game knowing what happened to us with that incident that happened. I’m thankful for my teammates, the whole team. They really supported me,” said Tenorio.
“The coaching staff, and the players really trusted me that I’m gonna come out this game to lead pa rin itong team na to going to the Finals.”
One figure he also thanked, in particular, was Justin Brownlee for keeping his promise that they will take Game Four.
The former Best Import basically strapped the Barangay on his back. He finished with a playoff career-high 47 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three steals, and three blocks in the 44 minutes and 50 seconds he played.
“I’m really happy that we’re back in the Finals after last conference na hindi kami nakapag-perform nang mabuti. We’re thankful, of course, kay Justin. Basically, he carried us in today’s game,” said Tenorio.
“Tinupad niya lang yung promise niya sa akin last game na, ‘Don’t worry about it. We’re gonna win next game.’ Yun lang yung sinabi niya sa akin. He did it for us. I have to make special mention of Justin.”
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