LA Tenorio will enter the break carrying all the lessons he gained from his first conference as head coach in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

But the biggest lesson he gained came from his former mentor — Chot Reyes.

Tenorio and Magnolia made an early exit after suffering a 109-118 loss to Reyes and the TNT Tropang 5G in the quarterfinals of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup last Saturday.

He admitted that he was outcoached by Reyes, who dug deep into his well of experience to send the Tropang 5G to the semifinals against the winner of the quarterfinal match between Rain or Shine and Meralco. The Elasto Painters and the Bolts are still clashing at press time. 

“There’s a lot of things to learn, especially with this team. Obviously, we were outplayed, outcoached by TNT. I remember, I told them that we really expect TNT to come out strong going into the game. And they did,” Tenorio said.

“It is what it is. I told them that if we want to be one of the best teams here in the PBA, we have to beat the best team. And for us to do that, we have to beat TNT. We have to beat the best team, a playoff team.”

The rookie mentor stressed that he reached out to Reyes after the game, telling him how grateful he was for all the lessons he learned in his first stint as head coach.

“I told Coach Chot that I learned a lot not only in today’s game but also in the entire conference. So I also have to get better. I will look myself in the mirror and ask myself if what I told my players to do are right. In the end, the coach will always take full responsibility. 

Tenorio and Reyes go a long way.

Aside from their ties with Ateneo de Manila University, Reyes served as Tenorio’s head coach at Gilas Pilipinas during its historic runner-up finish in the 2013 FIBA Asia Men’s Championship. They were also together in the 2014 FIBA World Championship in Spain that ended the Filipinos’ long absence on the world stage.  

Just like his fellow Gilas playmaker Jimmy Alapag, Tenorio eventually ventured into coaching but his first stint went sour as they made an early exit due to injuries and the late arrival of players.

“A lot of positives that can be taken away from this conference,” said Tenorio, who was forced to see action following the injuries suffered by Jerom Lastimosa and Paul Lee. The late arrival of rookie Yukien Andrada and Chris Koon, who was traded in the middle of the conference, also didn’t help.

“Hopefully, when we get back, we’ll get back stronger. I told the players that we don’t have any choice. We have to get back stronger. We don’t have a choice. If we don’t, then we might as well not join the PBA anymore next conference.”