BARANGAY Ginebra star LA Tenorio felt the Kings finally looked like a cohesive unit after grabbing their first victory in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the expense of San Miguel Beer, 95-82, on Sunday.
The veteran playmaker has been satisfied with the Kings’ performance on the defensive end where they held their first two opponents to just 71.5 points despite ending up with losses.
But Tenorio is doubly pleased as the team clicked on both ends this time, beginning to get the hang of a running game under returning coach Ato Agustin.
“Mukha kaming team kanina,” Tenorio said with a smile. “Offensively, we’re sharing the ball, kasi defensively, wala namang problema.”
[See Dunigan, Caguioa shine as Ginebra ends win drought]
It was their defense that led to their transition offense, forcing the Beermen to 18 errors that translated into 23 turnover points and 16 fastbreak points.
Tenorio, though, believes it’s ultimately the players — and not the system — that will continue to get them the results they want.
“It doesn’t matter kung anong system ‘yan as long as the players buy into the system,” he said. “Kung talagang mga players, isasapuso at gagawin kung ano talaga ang sinasabi ng coaching staff, it doesn’t matter kung ano 'yan eh.”
“Triangle, run-and-gun, circle, square, kahit ano yan, wala namang problema. Yung iba mga walang sistema, nananalo eh, ‘di ba?” Tenorio was quick to add, drawing chuckles from his interviewers. “At the end of the day, you just have to get the W.”
But the Kings are learning the transition game under Agustin by heart.
“Sa practice medyo ma-detalye kami ngayon,” Tenorio disclosed. “To be fair din kasi, it’s only been one month since pumalit si coach Ato and our import just arrived weeks ago. So mahirap rin 'yung transition from slow break to run-and-gun – again. It’s not easy.
“True enough, nag-struggle kami, but hopefully this is the start of the good things,” he concluded.
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