L.A. admits it’s not yet Ginebra’s time

MANILA, Philippines - Barangay Ginebra point guard L. A. Tenorio said the other day the team would’ve paid a huge debt of gratitude to its legion of fans with a victory in Game 7 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series against San Mig Coffee but vowed to bounce back with a vengeance.

Tenorio said the Mixers’ advantage in experience made the difference in the clincher before an all-time record crowd of 24,883 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday. “We haven’t played together as a team for too long,” he said. “The last time I was in a Game 7 was with Alaska five years ago. The difference was in the maturity level. San Mig Coffee has players who’ve been in a lot of championship games. We’re just getting to know each other with our team.”

Although still in the early stages of rebuilding, Ginebra pushed San Mig Coffee to the limit before succumbing in Game 7, 110-87, with the Mixers compiling more rebounds, 48-35, more assists, 30-15 and more triples, 11-7. As a team, the Mixers shot 60 percent from the field compared to Ginebra’s 38.6 percent.

Mixers assistant coach Jeff Cariaso, who met up with Tenorio at the Nike Kobe 9 Elite Masterpiece launch in Makati last Thursday, said in time, Ginebra will be tough to beat. “I guess it just isn’t their time yet and maybe, it’s ours for a little bit,” he said. “They’re the team of the future. In one or two years, they’ll be unbeatable as Greg (Slaughter) matures. Right now, Greg still moves a little slowly. As he develops, he’ll be quicker to react to situations.”

Tenorio said he was overwhelmed by the Ginebra crowd’s positive vibes after the Barangay’s heartbreaking 79-76 loss in Game 5. A fan Erson Villangca wrote an open letter in a blog to Tenorio assuring him that no matter what, the former Ateneo star will always be his hero.   The letter went viral and TV5 reached out to Villangca to bring him to the Big Dome for Game 6. Tenorio said he was touched and inspired by Villangca’s trust. Ginebra went on to win Game 6, 94-91, with Tenorio scoring 16 points.

“It would’ve been nice to win the series for Erson and the Ginebra fans,” said Tenorio. “But we learned a lot from the series. If we stay together, we’ll get better. After all, we were No. 1 after the eliminations. Give credit to coach Tim (Cone). I played for him at Alaska and I know how disciplined his players are. They stick to their system. You expect them to work the triangle every game. So you just have to be ready when they execute. In Game 7, we played zone to disrupt the triangle but James (Yap) and P. J. (Simon) kept hitting from outside. They found wide-open shots inside. They kept posting up. Ping (Marc Pingris) even defended me then when the ball went inside, he pulled back to recover. They all did a great job. But we’ll be back.”

Cariaso said the key was putting a body on Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar the entire series. “We didn’t want Japeth coming in to get the offensive rebound if Greg misses,” he said. “It was like the finals for us, playing in front of so many fans. Actually, the Ginebra fans motivated us to play harder. Now that we’re playing Rain Or Shine in the finals, I’m hoping we continue to play with a high level of intensity. It’s hard to do that after winning a series over Ginebra. Obviously, we can’t do to Rain Or Shine what we did against Ginebra. We can’t post up against their guards and we should be prepared for their physicality. Rain Or Shine has our number so far, they beat us twice in the eliminations. They’re our contra-pelo. But coach Tim is a master of adjustments. He always finds ways to win.”

Cariaso singled out Rafi Reavis as the Mixers’ unsung hero in the Ginebra duel. In Game 7, Reavis hit 12 of his 15 points in the first period to set the tone for the Mixers and finished with 12 rebounds. Yap and Simon combined for 58 points as San Mig Coffee went over the century mark for the first time in the series.

Tenorio said he’ll watch the finals on TV at home. “Rain Or Shine will run, that’s for sure,” he said. “They’ll probably put Gabe (Norwood) on Mark (Barroca). It will be an interesting series because of the matchups. I think it will be very different from our series against San Mig Coffee.”

Tenorio said it’ll be a short break for Ginebra as the team returns to practice on Thursday. It was confirmed yesterday that former Northern Illinois star Leon Rodgers will be the Barangay’s import in the Commissioner’s Cup. The 6-6 Rodgers, 33, is averaging 29.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 37.1 minutes in 20 games for the Jilin Northeast Tigers in the China league. He’s hitting .542 from two-point distance, .401 from beyond the arc and .766 from the line. Rodgers will leave China on Tuesday, return to the US to repack his bags and is expected to arrive in Manila on Feb. 24.