There were anxious moments inside the SMART Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday night, when LA Tenorio apparently hurt his chest after colliding with Ranidel De Ocampo in the third quarter of the Barangay Ginebra-Meralco clash.
Nobody wants to see any player go down due to an injury – especially Tenorio, since getting hurt could end his Iron Man streak. Wednesday night marked his 599th straight game played, thus extending his record even further.
Tenorio allayed fears of injuries, however. He was actually more concerned for De Ocampo than the streak.
“Ang inalala ko si Ranidel kasi tinamaan yung tuhod niya,” said the 34-year-old moments after the Gin Kings’ 86-76 win, which locked them as third seed for the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
“Medyo panget yung pagkatama.”
And beyond his own accolades, Tenorio cares more that the Gin Kings head into the next round in a favorable position and with enough momentum on their side – Wednesday’s win marked their fourth in a row.
“Ang goal naman talaga namin this conference is to clinch Top Six – minimum Top Six – para at least makapaglaro kami ng best-of-three. Bigger chance compared to twice-to-win,” said the 13-year league veteran.
“Well maganda sana kung twice-to-beat but this is our situation right now. We’re in a good situation, sa number three kami. And we have good momentum coming into the playoffs,” Tenorio added.
Tenorio did admit that the upcoming All-Star Weekend in Calasiao might disrupt Ginebra’s focus, given that they will face the NorthPort Batang Pier next Wednesday, but he’s taking it as a challenge.
“Isa ata kami sa maraming ipapadala sa All-Star. Pito yata kami total, and major minutes pa. Well, that’s part of the challenge for us this week. We’ll do what we can to stay in shape and stay focused going to the playoffs,” he said.
“Andito na kami eh. Eto na yung goal namin, we cannot let down. We still have a chance to get the championship. ‘Di kami pwede mag-let down just because of this All-Star break.”
