PBA: LA calls out teammates

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel guard LA Tenorio has expressed concern following two straight defeats even as he remains confident the Kings will be on their way to recovery before it’s too late in the PBA Philippine Cup.

After a 2-0 start to begin their quest for an all-Filipino title, the Kings dropped back-to-back games, first to Blackwater, 94-77, on Jan. 12 and against Alaska, 97-83, last Sunday in Antipolo City.

Tenorio said it’s the “little things” that when added up becomes bigger that led to their frustrations, notably the loss to the Aces.

“Kasi kami sa team meron kaming parang mga rules, halimbawa yung doing the little things,” Tenorio. “Hindi namin nagagawa sa game consistently yung ginagawa namin sa practice, hindi namin naa-apply.”

“So yun, it’s the little things lang talaga, creating good habits… yun talaga ang kulang pa. Kailangan pa namin ayusin yun as a team. Alam naman natin yung little things… kapag nagpatong-patong na, tapos sabay-sabay pa, talagang mapu-frustrate ka,” added Tenorio.

The pair of defeats put Ginebra in a tie with GlobalPort for fifth place, a half-game behind Alaska and TNT KaTropa, on 3-2 win-loss cards.

San Miguel Beer – the defending champion – leads all teams with a perfect 4-0 record, followed by Magnolia Pambansang Manok at 4-1. Phoenix Fuel, Blackwater, NLEX and Rain or Shine sport identical 2-3 slates, Meralco carries a 1-3 card, while Kia is at 1-4.

Ginebra will resume its practice session today at The Upper Deck in in Pasig City, and Tenorio said the rest given them by head Coach Tim Cone was timely since he himself is dealing with the flu.

“Last week pa actually na on-and-off yung fever. Of course it’s not an excuse, but hopefully mawala na in time for our next game,” said Tenorio as Ginebra takes on Phoenix Fuel on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Another thing that Tenorio pointed out is their defense, which he said should not have an off night in their loss to Blackwater and Alaska since both teams used big runs in the third quarter to break away.

Greg Slaughter, the team’s 7-foot center, was in uniform but did not play against Alaska due to a hamstring injury.

Tenorio said the absence of Slaughter is not the reason why they lost, but team defense.

“In our game against Alaska, we allowed 37 points in the third quarter,” said Tenorio. “As a team, we can’t afford to struggle like that defensively. Yes, there are times we struggle on offense, but on defense, never dapat yun.”