Tenorio to keep streak intact

No amount of pain can stop LA Tenorio from sustaining his streak of 737 games in the Philippine Basketball Association.

Tenorio told Daily Tribune that he is planning to play through pain when Barangay Ginebra San Miguel opens its campaign against Rain or Shine in the Governors' Cup of the Philippine Basketball Association on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The wily playmaker suffered a strain injury when they battled Bay Area in a grueling best-of-seven finals series of the previous Commissioner's Cup.

Although the Kings decided to push back their preparation for a week, the fact still remains that Tenorio's long streak of playing without an absence is under fire.

But the 38-year-old floor general refused sit out.

"I have no plans of sitting out. I want to play, even for limited minutes," Tenorio, who was given a lot of rest to keep him fresh for the season-ending conference, said in a telephone conversation.

In the Commissioner's Cup, Tenorio started slow as Ginebra coach Tim Cone used him sparingly, giving other guards a chance to shine.

He was given a bigger role in the playoffs until averaging 27 minutes with 9.57 points, 3.28 assists, 1.14 steals and 23.98 percent shooting in the finals against the Dragons.

Knowing that Tenorio needs more time to recuperate while other Kings were still either in their respective provinces or abroad, Cone decided to push back their training schedule to one more week.

Key players like import Justin Brownlee, reigning Most Valuable Player Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo and Japeth Aguilar, however, sustained their training as part of Gilas Pilipinas pool that will campaign in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers this month.