THE three-headed point guard rotation of Scottie Thompson, Terrence Romeo, and Chris Newsome should work wonders for Gilas Pilipinas in the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou.
This was the initial assessment of national assistant coach and former Gilas standout LA Tenorio.
“I think the set of guards na mayroon kami ngayon with Terrence, Newsome, and Scottie ay defensive minded,” Tenorio, who is set to return to Ginebra in the PBA once he completes his recovery from stage 3 colon cancer, said. “It’s a different set of point guards if we’re gonna compare it sa guards during our time.
“It’s a multi-talented guard line-up. Ganoon na talaga ang breed ngayon, nakita naman natin sa international competition, not only sa Philippines, sa US, even sa European countries, multi-talented na talaga ang guards, combo guards,” he added.
Tenorio, 39, was tapped by his Kings coach and Gilas tactician Tim Cone to help the team for the Asiad while waiting for his comeback in the pro league.
“After noong press conference (last week where Cone was announced as interim Gilas strategist), tinawagan ako ni coach Tim. He asked me if I wanted to help the team, and I said ‘yes.’ Sabi ko sa kanya, I’ll help the team especially sa players kasi kahit paano may experience naman tayo,” Tenorio said.
“I’m happy and timing rin kasi I’m slowly going back sa training. Sakto, sasabay ako dito sa training camp. I’ll leave next week for tests, to finalize my schedule sa buhay ko but so far, so good. Maganda ang resulta.”
Cone is convinced Tenorio, a former Gilas mainstay who was a member of the World Cup squad in 2014 in Spain, will be a big boost to his brain trust.
“I got LA on the staff. He’s been through all those wars before and he’s a constant talker to all the players,” he said. “He’s kind of the guy between the coaching staff and the players. He’s the bridge that players can go to and talk to.
“He’s still a player yet he’s still a coach. So, he’s in a really good position to help us.”
