The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings were on the brink of seeing their PBA Season 49 campaign come to an end on Sunday, July 6.
Facing a 3-2 deficit in their Best-of-7 semifinals series against the San Miguel Beermen, and despite already crawling back from a 16-point deficit, the Gin Kings saw themselves down 80-71 with only seven minutes left in the game.
This was similar to how Games 4 and 5 ended, with Ginebra suddenly seeing the Beermen break away by making a second-half run to chalk up the victory.
Fortunately for Tim Cone’s troops, the “Gineral” came to the rescue for the Barangay faithful in Game 6.
LA Tenorio hit a triple to not only cut their deficit to six, but his shot also jumpstarted a 14-to-3 surge that allowed Ginebra to overtake San Miguel, 85-83, four minutes later.
And while the Beermen retook the lead with only 10 seconds left following, Tenorio’s heroics — much like when he brought Ginebra multiple championships and finals MVPs in his prime — were on full display anew, as the Ateneo de Manila University product drained the go-ahead triple for an 88-87 lead, and eventually the victory.
“Miracles do happen. He has made shots like that throughout his whole career,” raved Cone. “We were grasping for straws out there all game long, so we turned to our veteran, our leader, and he made the big plays down the stretch.”
“It’s something we haven’t been able to do in this series, but LA’s presence out there allows us to make big plays down the stretch. It was plays before that when he kept us in the game,” added the Gilas Pilipinas mentor.
However, this was not even the original plan of Cone as he was already planning to take Tenorio out and take Scottie Thompson and RJ Abarrientos back to the hardwood.
Meanwhile, for Tenorio, who was seeing limited action throughout the conference, playing meaningful playoff minutes reminded him of how his early years in the league went.
“I felt like a rookie again, because as a rookie, you want to make something happen, and you want to help right away,” said the Batangas native. “That’s what I felt, honestly, even though I’ve been playing in the PBA for almost 20 years.”
In addition to Tenorio’s on-court battles, he is also still receiving continuous treatment due to his cancer history, and he shared how this adds to his motivation to make the most out when his number is called.
“Just like what Coach Tim said, miracles do happen,” he said. “Not just in this game, but also in my personal life, that’s why when I step on the court, I try to make something happen. I really need to be on point with what I do.” (ABS-CBN News)