WITH their season and title dreams on the line, Ginebra coach Tim Cone paused long and hard at the bench, on the lookout for someone who would step up and take them home in Game 6 against San Miguel Beer last Sunday night.
That player turned out to be Cone’s most trusted lieutenant, even from way, way back—veteran playmaker LA Tenorio.
“Just like what coach Tim said, miracles do happen. Not only in this game, but in my personal life. I truly believe in that. That’s why every time I step on the court, I try to make something happen,” Tenorio said. “As a leader of the team, matagal na taon na, I really need to be on point in everything that I do, doesn’t matter if it’s two minutes, three minutes, one minute, I have to be a role model to them.
“For this game, I was really ready not to go home and have a vacation, long vacation, because we’re going to be busy in the next few months. You never know what’s going to happen, the next day, the next week, I may not be playing anymore. You never know,” he added.
The 5-foot-9 Tenorio, 40, gamely answered the call by firing all his 11 points in the fourth quarter—including the dagger three-pointer that pegged the final count at 88-87 in the sixth match of their best-of-7 semifinals series with the Beermen.
The deciding tiff is set tomorrow at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with the winner earning the right to face grand slam-seeking TNT.
Tenorio, who also suited up for Cone at the defunct Alaska franchise, said he was simply ready to rise to the occasion.
“What I’ve learned from coach Tim throughout the years, even in Alaska, you live through the moment. Just stay in the moment, just focus on what’s in front of you, and that’s what I did the whole game. As soon as he put me in, that’s my goal, to help the team,” Tenorio said.
“Honestly, I felt like a rookie again a while ago—shaking, going to the scorers’ table. As a rookie di ba, you want to make something happen and you want to help the team right away, have an impact. That’s what I felt, honestly, going to the court, even though I’ve been playing for 20 years now in the PBA. Thank God.”
Tenorio gave the ultimate credit to Cone and Ginebra team governor Alfrancis Chua.
“With the trust of the coaching staff, especially coach Tim, and the guy right there who just came in, si boss Al, he’s been always, like every day, literally every day, no joke,” he said. “Just be ready, you might have your time, because I really wanted to help the team, and he’s always there for me, being positive.
“Dinadala ko iyon sa team. The energy that I bring to the team, doesn’t matter if I play or not, I’m always there, I’m always engaged in the game. Coach Tim knows that. Minsan siya pa iyong nagtatanong sa akin sa sideline. I have to be engaged and be a role model. That’s what I did. Thank God. I believe miracles do happen.”
Tenorio’s lovely wife Chesca and his parents were present at the Big Dome when he banged in the triple that left the big crowd in ecstasy and his loved ones wept perhaps for the first time since the former Ateneo and Gilas Pilipinas star was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer two years ago.
That Sunday night, those tears were for good reason.
