ESCAPE WITH LA
Barangay Ginebra needed something big to drag San Miguel Beer from having a foot in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals to marching straight into a Game 7.
LA Tenorio, the little guy on the court, provided just that—and a moment nobody who was at Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday is likely to forget.
“Miracles do happen,” coach Tim Cone said, still shaking his head moments after the final buzzer on an 88-87 Game 6 victory that squared their semifinal series one last time. “We were grasping for straws all game long.”
Tenorio knocked down the game-winning triple for the Kings, whose battle for a Finals berth with the Beermen boils down to one last game.
“[LA gave us] a lot more than just that big shot, there were plays before that that he kept us in the game,” Cone said.
Ginebra trailed by as many as 16 and was down by seven, 78-71, with 8:34 left in the game before it summoned that “Never Say Die” spirit the team has historically been associated with.
And at the end of that dramatic comeback was Tenorio, the 39-year-old guard who overcame colon cancer two years ago. With 3:53 remaining, Tenorio brought the Gin Kings back from the brink as he buried a cold-blooded triple that tied the game at 83.
And that triple may have saved Ginebra on Sunday. It was that shot, after all, that made sure Tenorio would be on the floor for the final play.
“You know I’ll be honest, we were originally going to take LA out but he made a three and then he made another play and it was like we can’t take him out at this point,” Cone said. “And RJ (Abarrientos) and Scottie (Thompson) were sitting at the scorer’s table and so we [told them] … go in for somebody else.”
‘College tuition’ shots
Still, the Beermen responded. Buckets by June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez reclaimed an 87-85 edge and set up what looked like a heartbreak finish for Ginebra.
Tenorio saved them from that.
“Like coach Tim said, miracles do happen—not only in this game but in my personal life,” Tenorio said, reflecting on his journey back to the court after his cancer battle.
Tenorio finished with 11 points, two rebounds and two assists, but it was that one shot that will be replayed for years to come.
“He’s made shots like that throughout his whole career and I’ve been the beneficiary of those shots,” Cone said. “He’s put my kids through college doing those kind of things so no one appreciates it more than I do.”
Thompson delivered a near triple-double with 17 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists—and, remarkably, zero turnovers.
On the other end, Fajardo’s 21 points and 16 rebounds nearly carried San Miguel across the finish line. Rodney Brondial added 12 points and 12 rebounds, but the Beermen couldn’t land the final blow.
