LA Tenorio was left looking for more from the supporting cast in the wake of the harsh 81-102 beating that the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel received from the San Miguel Beermen in Game Four of the 2018 Philippine Cup semifinals.
Tenorio and Ginebra’s tower Japeth Aguilar were the only bright spots for the Gin Kings in the humiliating defeat. Aguilar unloaded 31 points and 13 rebounds, while Tenorio finished with 20 markers, three assists, and two steals.
“It’s not about me or Japeth’s scoring all the points. It’s really about team contribution.
“I’m not talking about offense only but defensively also kaya ano e, definitely, we’re not going to win na dalawa or isang player lang,” explained Tenorio after the match. “Kasi itong team team namin built in a way na equal contribution kami every single game, just like last game, we won because everyone contributed defensively and offensively.”
But more than the absence of support from the other Gin Kings, the three-time Finals Most Valuable Player also lamented their poor adjustment to the Beermen’s schemes, which allowed San Miguel to gain cruise control at the end of the first and lead by as much as 29 later on.
“Hindi kaagad kami nakapag-adjust doon sa adjustments nila, defensively and offensively na ginawa nila. Yun yung nangyari the whole game,” said Tenorio, as they allowed San Miguel to shoot an excellent 52 percent from the field.
“And then parang nag-hesitate kami sa lahat ng ginagawa namin. Hindi kami sure sa ginagawa namin, so yun yung nangyari,” the 12-year league veteran added.
“Pinagbabayaran talaga namin ‘pag nagkakamali kami.”
Still, Tenorio tipped his hat to the Beermen as “they’re the best team in the PBA and they showed it tonight.” And now, his sights and the Gin Kings’ are all set on Game Five on Saturday, March 17. It’s either win or go home.
“Now, it’s time for us to adjust again kung ano yung gagawin namin. We cannot afford to lose our focus next game because it’s a do-or-die for us,” said the 33-year-old, who has been averaging 13.0 points and 3.5 dimes this series.
“Sana madala namin yung never-say-die spirit namin for the next three games. [Pero siyempre] the next game first yung kailangan namin.”
