After five games of producing below-standard outputs in their best-of-seven semifinals series against the Star Hotshots in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup, LA Tenorio has finally regained his touch.
Through Games 1 to 5, Tenorio was often seen at the end of Ginebra’s box scores, averaging just seven markers per outing. But in the must-win Game 6 Sunday night that had 18,602 witnesses, it was a whole lot different story.
The 32-year-old floor general finished with 19 markers — 15 in the first half — on 7-of-17 shooting, to help the Barangay send the series to a Game 7 with a lopsided 91-67 victory.
Tenorio’s offensive explosion, obviously, came at the best of times for the Barangay. But for him, his 19-point outburst is nothing but a mere bonus, as the whole focal point of Sunday night was his team winning.
“Bonus nalang yung points sakin talaga sa series na ‘to,” said Tenorio, who also had five assists.
“Ang importante talaga is ma-involve ko lahat ng teammates ko. I think we had a good, balanced scoring especially with the bench players.”
Tenorio’s claim regarding Ginebra’s balanced attack was evidently proven in Game 6. Aside from him, two-guard Sol Mercado produced 21 markers, while center Japeth Aguilar finished with 11 points and 10 boards.
The Barangay also received ample support from their bench unit, outscoring the Hotshots’ bench, 24-19. 11 of the bench unit’s 24 points came from reliable banger Jervy Cruz, who shot a decent 5-of-9 from the floor.
“It’s about the team talaga eh,” the 11-year league veteran emphasized.
As mentioned, Tenorio produced 19 markers. But what made it more notable was the fact that he had been fielded on the court for 40 grueling minutes — totally different from the minutes he had in Game 5, which was 29.
And for Tenorio, logging in with heavy minutes does not concern him at all anymore, especially now that Ginebra are at yet another crucial stage of the All-Filipino playoffs — in a do-or-die, particularly.
“Wala namang choice eh. Ang pahinga after the season na,” said Tenorio. “Yun lang ang iniisip ko eh. Bubuhos ko na ngayon, tapos kung ano mang mangyari, kung magpapahinga, magpapahinga ako. Kung hindi naman, it’s up to me how will I prepare my self going into the next game para makakuha ng energy uli.
“‘Di ko iniisip yung pagod eh. Wala kaming karapatang magpahinga ngayon.”
Now that the Manila Clasico semis is heading to a deciding Game 7, Tenorio is hoping that the Barangay can survive one last battle against the dangerous Hotshots.
“Marami na kaming do-or-die na nilaruan. Hopefully madala namin yung experience, yung composure. Andyan naman yung crowd para tumulong samin eh. Malaking bagay din sila,” Tenorio said.
“You just have to prepare and think the game na nilaro namin dito. It’s not enough for us to beat Hotshots. I’m sure they will come out stronger. So we have to be ready for that. And we have to match or lampasan ang energy nila.
“So sa Tuesday, hopefully, ma-survive ulit. Nagawa namin against Alaska, hopefully magawa uli against Star,” Tenorio declared.
