BIG GAME COMES FOR LA
Many began to wonder whatever happened to LA Tenorio since Barangay Ginebra San Miguel shifted to the triangle under new coach Jeff Cariaso.
Some quarters say that Tenorio shouldn’t really have a hard time adjusting since he’s been exposed to the system before during his time with Alaska under coach Tim Cone. Some also believe he should post gaudier stats since he’s more familiar with the triangle.
Through all of this, Ginebra coach Jeffrey Cariaso kept his trust on his five-star playmaker.
“You can sense that a little bit in our last game (against San Mig Coffee) na medyo bumabalik na yung laro nya. I told you that LA’s gonna find his rhythm,” Cariaso said. “He wasn’t playing bad in our first three games. He was initiating, getting guys on some spots. He was helping me out by being the floor leader and organizing our plays.”
“You have to remember in our first three games, he was defending. He was guarding Gary David, against GlobalPort, we’re pitting him against the two-guards also,” Cariaso said. “Even if his numbers weren’t there, he was there playing for me. And as the conference goes on, I told you that he’s gonna be aggressive and have a big game.”
And in their game against Barako Bull, Tenorio finally silenced his doubters, playing his best game in the 2014 PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup and recording 22 points, four rebounds, and five assists in the Kings’ 98-70 victory.
The former Ateneo Blue Eagle had 11 of his markers in the third period, when Ginebra broke free and turned the game into a blowout with a 22-0 run, giving Tenorio some rest as he sat out the rest of the payoff period.
But most importantly, it’s a good sign for Tenorio and the rest of the Barangay in their quest to reclaim their spot at the top of the food chain.
“Medyo paakyat yung laro namin dahil siguro maganda rin yung dinedepensa ng team. Nagkakaroon kami ng opportunity to score, lahat kami,” he said.
Though Ginebra is among the leaders in the season-ending conference, Tenorio reminded the rest of his teammates that they still have a long way to go before they can perfect the triangle.
“Nakukuha na namin yung rhythm as a team pero kulang pa dahil marami pa kaming dapat matutunan as a team lalo na sa execution ng triangle,” he said. “Every game naman, marami kaming natututunan, so ang importante lang sana yung aggressiveness namin sa defense, hindi mawala.”
“At 4-1, pag nakikita kaming naglalaro, parang ang ganda. But when we watch the tapes, medyo maraming lapses. Defensively, marami pa kaming lapses na dapat matutunang ayusin in-game. Yung mga schemes naman namin, napupunan yung mga pagkakamali eh. Pero kung somehow, magagawa namin ng 85 to 90 percent yung defense, siguro di na kami mahihirapan from start to finish.”
Though many pundits hit Tenorio’s dip in production in the past few games, he said that it’s not because he doesn’t want to score, but it’s just how the system is built, giving opportunities to the five on the floor.
He said, “Ganun naman talaga ang triangle. The play is not for a certain player lang. I understand naman yung system, medyo iba lang when I was with Alaska. Now, we have a lot of personnel, a lot of talent. Magandang tingnan yung team namin and a lot of positives yung nangyayari sa team namin kaya sana magtuloy-tuloy.”
Ginebra isn’t rushing things right now, which helps as the squad is slowly feeling its way with the system and the new coach.
For his part, Tenorio said that the lapses he mentioned would hopefully be ironed out as the team continues to execute the triangle.
“Familiarity na namin yun with the system ni coach Jeff. Kung anong rules na tinatakbo nya, alam ko naman yun. Pero dapat sa players on court, on the same page sila,” he said.
“The players are willing to learn, to listen, and to do the role na binibigay sa kanila ni coach Jeff. Yun ang maganda.” (RL)
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