Ginebra suffered a tough blow in its PBA Governors’ Cup title retention bid as LA Tenorio has been ruled out for the rest of the conference.
Head coach Tim Cone revealed that the 38-year-old will be out for about 4-6 weeks as he will have to go under the knife after aggravating a sports hernia. The season-ending conference is projected to wrap up by late April.
“We heard from the trainers, approximately four to six weeks. So he’ll probably be out for the rest of the conference,” said the champion mentor shortly after the Kings’ win over Meralco Wednesday night. “He’s gonna undergo surgery.”
Tenorio did not see action in the Bolts match at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, marking the very first time in his career that he missed a game.
His absence, furthermore, ended the Ironman streak at 744 games, which began when he entered the league as the no. 4 pick in 2006.
“That was devastating to LA,” said Cone, who first handled Tenorio in Alaska in 2008 in a partnership that has since yielded eight PBA championships.
Cone lamented the unceremonious end to such an impressive streak but believes that it’s a record that will stand the test of time.
“All good things come to an end,” he said. “He’s one of those guys who only doesn’t miss games, he doesn’t miss practices — he doesn’t miss practice his whole career. It’s amazing that he’s been able to get this far.
“This is a record that’s gonna be a while, you know, a long time for someone to break. ‘Cause this is actually the first game he’s missed in his entire career. And he’s already 38 years old. Imagine that,” he added.
Cone and the rest of the Barangay are just looking forward to welcoming their lead guard as soon as he recovers from the injury.
“It’s not the end of LA,” said the owner of 25 titles. “He’s gonna be back. He’s gonna come back to play. We’re looking forward to keeping a spot for him.
“And I’m sure he’ll just start another streak, knowing LA,” added Cone with a laugh.
