Last November 6, LA Tenorio admitted that he himself was surprised when head coach Yeng Guiao included him in Gilas Pilipinas’ talented 20-man pool for the upcoming 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers’ fifth window.
“Medyo nagulat ako bakit ako napasama.”
Some eyes likely gleamed when Guiao mentioned not only Tenorio’s name, but Arwind Santos’ as well – the 2013 PBA Most Valuable Player’s national team inclusion has been a long time coming.
“Panibagong challenge sa akin ito, dahil matagal rin ako ‘di nakakapag-laro sa Philippine team.”
Many actually did not expect Tenorio’s and Santos’ return to the national team at this point in their careers. The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel guard is 34 years old, while the San Miguel Beermen wing is 37.
Add to that the fact that it has been years since the last time they repped flag and country.
Tenorio last played for Gilas back in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. Back then, Gilas came in seventh – an underwhelming finish, considering that they had just come off a stint in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain.
On the other hand, Santos last waved the Philippine flag almost a decade ago, as he was part of the Powerade Team Pilipinas that played in the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship. That Filipino contingent only placed eighth.
Both have actually been included in past national team pools after their stints. Back in 2012, when Chot Reyes took over the program from Rajko Toroman, Santos was named in the Gilas 2.0 pool, but he wasn’t able to commit.
Santos then never had any invitations, until Guiao came in.
Meanwhile, Tenorio had been part of the national team pool under then-head coach Tab Baldwin for the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament here in Manila. He – along with Calvin Abueva – did not make the final cut.
Both Tenorio and Santos – once teammates in the Philippine team that played in the William Jones Cup back in 2016 – admitted that after that, they had already accepted their time with the national was already up.
“Oo, naisip ko na rin yun. Feeling ko ‘di na ko makakabalik,” Santos said.
“To be honest, yes,” added Tenorio. “I thought that was it for me for the national team. I wanted to focus on playing for my mother team after that. After that, we won championships in Ginebra.
“So I thought that was it.”
But fate really has its ways.
“Dapat magbabakasyon kami. Magfo-focus na lang sa kung anong pagkaka-abalahan namin mag-asawa, pero bigla akong tinawagan,” said Santos.
“Sobrang natutuwa ako at nagpapasalamat sa Panginoon, naibalik Niya ako.”
“Well, it’s surprising, but at the same time I’m happy that I’m back to the national team,” confessed the 5-foot-9 Tenorio.
“Whatever the decision will be with the final twelve, I’m always grateful naman and blessed to be part of the pool.”
Santos’ and Tenorio’s inclusion in this current batch of the national team adds more veteran presence. But more importantly, the decorated pros’ inclusion only serves as a great example for the adage that age is just a number.
“Aaminin ko ‘pag hindi ko na kaya. Kung hindi ko na kaya sumabay, kung hindi ko na kaya maglaro sa national team. Kung ako napili tapos ‘di ko na kaya? Kahit ako aayaw eh. Pero sa nakikita ko naman, kaya ko sumabay,” said Santos.
“Age also can bring a lot of experience to the team,” Tenorio said.
“We don’t call it matatanda. We call it vets.”
