LA Tenorio is well aware of the criticisms thrown at Barangay Ginebra San Miguel while they were winning championships with Justin Brownlee in tow.
The 32-year-old has been a major reason behind the Gin Kings’ return to prominence. He led them to four titles in the last four years – including the 2016 Governors’ Cup crown that ended their eight-year drought.
But then, the skeptics will always have something to say. For them, the league’s most popular team cannot win without the help of their celebrated import, who’s now a candidate for naturalization for Gilas Pilipinas.
That just made it more satisfying for Tenorio and Co. when they finally won a title without Brownlee. The Gin Kings conquered the 2020 Philippine Cup last week after taking out TNT Tropang Giga in the Finals in just five games.
“Coach Tim [Cone] always reminds us that if we get this All-Filipino, it’s really different,” the decorated floor general told the Power and Play program hosted by former PBA commissioner Noli Eala last Saturday.
“Because people will say, ‘Ah because of Justin Brownlee,’ ‘Because your import is really good,’ ‘Your import is a super import,’ ‘di ba? But this one is really special because, ‘yun nga, very prestigious siya eh. All-Filipino eh.”
Head coach Tim Cone, meanwhile, isn’t shy to admit that the Barangay tends to defer to the one-time Best Import, especially during the biggest of moments. It was then a challenge to adjust without him.
But there’s no greater satisfaction for the league’s most accomplished mentor than seeing some of his trusted wards step up to the plate when it mattered most.
Tenorio himself had his own moments in the Finals – first in Game One, where he made three of the biggest assists down the stretch; then the 22-point outing in Game Four that saw him bury crucial triples in the endgame.
The 36-year-old even underwent laparoscopic appendectomy a few weeks prior to the season restart. But he was adjudged as the Finals Most Valuable Player with averages of 13.6 points, 6.2 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.2 steals.
Then there’s the do-it-all Scottie Thompson, who rose to the occasion in Game Two. He sank a lead-giving three-pointer from the corner pocket with 30.5 seconds left, to help his side eventually get the 2-0 series lead.
His big shot came just five nights after swishing in a triple with six-tenths of a second remaining to boot out Meralco in the winner-take-all Game Five of the semifinals – a shot reminiscent of Brownlee’s in 2016.
Joe Devance, sparingly used for almost the whole season, came through for Cone in the playoffs. He played first in the semis, then in the titular bout, with the 38-year-old anchoring a veteran-laden starting five in the series’ last two games.
And of course, Japeth Aguilar and Stanley Pringle made huge contributions, too. The 6-foot-9 forward was the one who helped Ginebra close out TNT, exploding for 32 big points for easily his best game in the bubble.
He and Pringle did the damage down the stretch, joining hands for that pivotal 10-0 run. Together, they flipped a five-point deficit to a 78-73 lead for the Gin Kings on their way to the 82-78 victory.
“For LA to step up in those moments, Stanley, Scottie, Japeth, even Joe – it was really amazing to watch them step up in those moments,” Cone expressed.
