LA not pushing panic button

MANILA, Philippines — Losing Game One in a PBA Finals is nothing new to Barangay Ginebra captain LA Tenorio. In the 2021 Governors’ Cup Finals, Ginebra yielded the series opener to Meralco then bounced back to win four of the next five for the crown. Tenorio was on that squad with Justin Brownlee.

Tenorio, 40, is a lot wiser now. A four-time Finals MVP, he’s played on eight PBA championship teams. So after Ginebra dropped Game 1, 104-88, to TNT in the Governors’ Cup Finals at Ynares Center, Antipolo, last Sunday, Tenorio wasn’t alarmed. He was clinical in analyzing what happened.

“Defensively, they took away our execution,” he said. “They did a great job of containing our guards and of course, RHJ (Rondae Hollis-Jefferson) made it hard not only for JB (Justin Brownlee) but also the whole team. He was all over the place defensively and his energy and focus were on point.”

Tenorio said adjustments will be unraveled in Game 2 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight. “We have to be smart and focus on our execution,” he said. “We have to match RHJ’s energy.” It will mean getting off to a fast start. In Game 1, TNT zoomed to a 19-4 lead and was never headed.

Another veteran Jared Dillinger admitted Ginebra came out flat and played poorly but said the good news is despite the pitfalls, the team had its chances. “If we played the way we usually do and lost, we’d be in trouble,” he said. “But we played out of character. We were almost overthinking instead of instinctively playing. We were overreading the sequences their defense was giving us. We couldn’t get comfortable and we had a hard time figuring out their defense. Hitting shots is the key and winning those matchups.”