LA Tenorio undecided on retirement as Ginebra season ends in heartbreak

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LA Tenorio plays possibly his final PBA game as Barangay Ginebra crashes out of the Philippine Cup after falling prey to San Miguel in the sudden death of their best-of-seven semifinals

MANILA, Philippines – Has the PBA seen the last of LA Tenorio?

Tenorio played possibly his final PBA game as Barangay Ginebra crashed out of the Philippine Cup after a 100-93 loss to San Miguel in the sudden death of their best-of-seven semifinals on Wednesday, July 9.

Concluding his 18th year in the league, Tenorio said he is still undecided whether to return for another season or draw the curtains on a storied career that saw him win eight championships and four Finals MVP plums.

“We’ll see. You’ll hear it from me definitely in the next few weeks. It’s just sad if this is really my last game,” said Tenorio in a mix of Filipino and English.

Tenorio barely saw action in the do-or-die Game 7, logging just 2 minutes and 28 seconds.

If the veteran guard is indeed retiring, he has good memories to look back on from his final conference as he extended the Gin Kings’ campaign with a sensational performance in Game 6.

Turning back the hands of time in Game 6, Tenorio scored all of his 11 points in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning three-pointer as Ginebra forced a rubber match.

“It’s definitely memorable for me because honestly, I don’t know what’s going to happen to me for the next few weeks, few months,” Tenorio said of his Game 6 heroics. “So we’ll see. I don’t know my plan yet.”

Tenorio, who turned 41 on Wednesday, had hoped to get a win as his birthday gift.

But the Beermen spoiled his wishes, with San Miguel banking on veteran Chris Ross’ fourth-quarter exploits to set up a title clash with Grand Slam-seeking TNT.

The loss marked the Gin Kings’ third consecutive Game 7 defeat as Ginebra lost to TNT in the Commissioner’s Cup finals earlier this season and to Meralco in the Philippine Cup semifinals last year.

“I’m very proud of the team for fighting. We reached Game 7, we had the opportunity of playing a Game 7. I think more than that, it’s really the experience of continuously playing in a Game 7,” said Tenorio.

“Hopefully in time, we can figure out a way to win a Game 7.”

Tenorio has already pivoted to coaching after taking on the role of Gilas Youth head coach, guiding the squad to the gold medal in the FIBA U16 Asia Cup SEABA Qualifiers last May.

As he mulls his next career move, Tenorio remains busy as Gilas Youth plunges back to action in the U16 Asia Cup in August in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. – Rappler.com