By MARK REY MONTEJO
Veteran guard LA Tenorio knows a thing or two about basketball and he definitely showed it in Ginebra’s 90-71 win over Meralco in Game Four of the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals on Friday night, May 24, at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
After a long while, the 39-year-old Tenorio played as a starter for head coach Tim Cone, with the former pouring it all to become the stabilizing presence for the Kings inside the court.
Tenorio delivered when it mattered the most, scoring seven points along with six assists, four rebounds and two steals in 22 minutes of playing time.
“When coach Tim (Cone) mentioned it yesterday before practice. I’m always ready. Kung ilang minutes man ibigay sakin,” said Tenorio, who successfully battled colon cancer last year.
“I’m always preparing myself to play [at] kung ano ‘yong routine ko years ago, ‘yon pa rin ang ginagawa ko kasi I want to be ready anytime,” he added.
Cone knew it well that Tenorio is a big asset whenever he is playing.
“LA (Tenorio) knows our execution like the back of his hand [and] he understands it,” Cone stressed.
“He knows where their strengths are [and] that was something that we were looking for today,” he added.
Tenorio credited his teammates for stepping up, especially Stanley Pringle and Scottie Thompson, who finally got out of his scoring slump with a series-high output in Game 4.
Thompson and Pringle provided ample support with 15 and 14 points, respectively, as Japeth Aguilar (21) and Christian Standhardinger (15) carried much of the load.
Ginebra is looking forward to breaking the tie in a crucial Game 5 on Sunday, May 26, at the same venue.
