LA Tenorio made light of his ‘hot mic’ incident during their eventual loss to TNT in Game 2 of the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals last Wednesday.
The former star turned mentor was caught on camera raising his voice to the entire Hotshots during one timeout, in which he began with an expletive before demanding more from his players as the Tropang 5G lead got bigger.
“Ganun pala ako magalit, straight English,” he said with a chuckle, drawing giggles from members of the press. “Sometimes, you have to let it out eh.
“They have to hear it. Kasi ganun naman eh, baka ‘yung mga players masyadong nagiging komportable minsan, ‘di ba; na kahit mali na ‘yung ginagawa dahil sa sobrang bait ko as a coach also.”
Fast forward to Saturday and that particular moment has become just a footnote to the whole series. Magnolia got swept by the Tropang 5G in Game 3 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, bidding goodbye as well to its Season 50 campaign.
And that scene now serves as one of the many lessons Tenorio will surely revisit soon after wrapping up his first season as a head coach in the league.
(C) PBA Images
In his first three conferences at the helm, the Barangay Ginebra legend led one of the league’s most popular franchises to the quarterfinals in all times, but could not get over the hump as youth and inexperience proved to be their issues.
He inherited a team that had veterans led by Mark Barroca, Paul Lee, Ian Sangalang, and Rome dela Rosa but was mostly made up of young talents bannered by Jerom Lastimosa and rookie Yukien Andrada, to name some.
And just like him being a new mentor, this particular Magnolia batch is also looking for ways to grow under new leadership after spending eight long years with former chief shot-caller Chito Victolero, who led the club to a title in 2018.
When asked about the biggest lesson he learned in his first year with the Hotshots, Tenorio took a moment to reflect before figuring out his response.
“Actually, that’s a good question,” said the former Gilas Youth head coach.
“The biggest learning is probably to make my team more prepared mentally.”
Their recent series against the Tropang 5G, in which he figured in a coaching battle against one of his mentors, Chot Reyes, highlighted the need to polish as much after fighting no less than the defending conference champions.
“Funny thing is, lahat ng binabato ko sa kanilang game plan, tama ako eh,” he said. “Kumbaga, nangyayari. Kasi kilala ko eh (TNT)—kilala ko ‘yung team, kilala ko ‘yung coach, kilala ko ‘yung mga players, how they move kasi nakalaban ko.
“The thing now for me is how can I make my team, every player, be ready mentally,” added Tenorio.
“Not only physically but mentally ready in every game, especially in these kinds of games in the quarterfinals.”
It’s indeed a Season 50 full of learnings, and the eight-time champion is simply charging everything to experience as he gears up for his second season.
“At least I’m officially a coach now, coach na talaga ako,” said Tenorio with a smile.
“Again, another learning from me.”
