LA Tenorio expressed some disappointment in the Barangay Ginebra San Miguels’s defense, which led to a 90-102 defeat to defending champions San Miguel Beermen in Game One of their Philippine Cup Semifinals, Friday night.
The match was a close affair early, until the Beermen gained their groove in the second chapter and went full blast come the third canto, where they led by as much as 19 and made it hard for the Gin Kings to climb back.
“We’re one step slow eh, most especially sa depensa,” said the Gineral after the bout at SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“We seemed to be okay, but… We were a step slow, especially our starters,” echoed Ginebra head coach Tim Cone, who seldom grants interviews from the press whenever his team loses.
“We weren’t reacting quickly.”
Tenorio’s claim might be debatable considering that the Gin Kings were able to limit reigning four-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo to a conference-low nine points and seven rebounds, but for the 33-year-old, that isn’t a valid argument.
“June Mar scored only nine points, I think the lowest output of June Mar, if I’m not mistaken. Pero still they scored 102, so that means that’s really our defense, defense talaga. We’re one step slow,” said the 12-year league veteran.
“Before this game, we were averaging… We’re giving up teams like 84, 86 points per game? It’s really our defense.”
Aside from poor defense, though, Tenorio also noted the way the Barangay took care of the ball. The Gin Kings had committed a total of 25 turnovers, which led to 22 points and contributed to 23 of San Miguel’s fastbreak points.
“Nakakaikot sila ng bola and [maganda] transition offense nila kasi we were committing a lot of turnovers, I think you most of the assists na nakuha nila is galing sa turnovers namin e tsaka sa breakdown namin,” rued the three-time PBA champion
Still, Tenorio gave props to the Beermen, whom they defeated back in the eliminations 100-96, for the masterful showing they displayed.
“Kapag nagcocollapse kami kay June Mar, they’re hitting their shots, they’re on point talaga. Even [Von] Pessumal shot the lights out tonight. And we expected that, hindi naman kami naghohope na magmimiss yan kasi yun game nila,” the seven-time All-Star conceded.
“They’re really focused.”
