Cone keeping faith in veteran Tenorio

LA Tenorio may be the most senior in the Barangay Ginebra roster but he remains bankable, especially when the game is on the line.

Kings coach Tim Cone admitted that his faith in Tenorio had never wavered after leading them to a miraculous 88-87 win over San Miguel Beer in Game 6 of their Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal series late Sunday.

Cone, who had seen a lot of big moments in his stellar coaching career, was seen celebrating as Tenorio knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer in the final 3.1 seconds that allowed the Kings to stay alive and stretch the series to a deciding Game 7 on Wednesday.

Cone tagged the basket as a “miracle,” saying that Tenorio’s mere presence allowed them to fight their way back in the game and, probably, in the series.

“Just LA’s presence allowed us to make the big plays down the stretch, and obviously, the big shot,” Cone said after witnessing the jumper that put Ginebra loyalists at the edge of their seats at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“But it was a lot more than the big shots. It was the plays before that that kept us in the game.”

True enough, the dagger that pierced the heart of San Miguel was just the result of Ginebra’s never-say-die spirit.

After falling behind by as many as 16 points, Ginebra greeted the last eight minutes of the game trailing by nine, 71-80. But Tenorio buckled down to work, allowing the Kings to fight back with a 14-3 rally that gave them an 85-83 lead in the final 3:20 of the contest.

The Beermen regained the lead, 87-85, setting the stage for Tenorio’s heroics.

“It was a classic. There’s no more tomorrow for us,” said Japeth Aguilar, heaving a sigh of relief after dropping 16 points while suffering from cramps in the crucial stretch of the match.

“Now that we have the win and the series is extended to Game 7, we have to rest and recover. Hopefully, I’ll not suffer cramps again because I want to help my teammates inside the court.”

Aside from Tenorio’s basket, Cone said the crowd had kept them alive.

“The crowd never gave up on us,” the American mentor added.

“We were down and we made a little bit of a run and they went crazy. The crowd simply wouldn’t let us quit.”