COACH LA Tenorio insisted every single player of Gilas Pilipinas Youth deserves his spot on the team that recently ruled the Fiba U16 Asia Cup SEABA qualifiers.
Some fans have been questioning the composition of the 12-man roster, expressing the view that there are teenage standouts, including from the Palarong Pambansa, who were more deserving to be on the team.
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Fans have even been insinuating that some players only made the squad owing to being sons and brothers of retired or current players connected to Tenorio.
There are two second-generation point guards in the squad.
Chris Paul Miranda is the son of Denok Miranda, a contemporary of Tenorio in the UAAP and PBA, where they were drafted only a year apart. Ethan Tan-Chi, on the other hand, is the son of Paul Tan-Chi, Tenorio’s senior teammate at Ateneo.
Another guard, Andwele Cabañero, is the brother of current University of Santo Tomas star Nic Cabañero.
Tenorio was quick to come to the defense of his young squad.
“Lahat naman ng sinasabi ng mga tao, opinion nila eh,” the rookie national coach began. “I mean, kami nakakakita in the first place. Kami nakakaalam kung anong mga gusto namin gawin. Sino yung players na sa tingin namin that will fit the system.”
“I mean honestly, kung makukuha lang namin lahat, why not? Kaya lang, 12 players lang ang allowed sa FIBA eh. So we really have to get the 12 players that can really fit the system,” he added.
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Despite being another second-generation player, Clark Khobuntin, son of current TNT wingman Glenn Khobuntin, missed the cut, although he joined the team in their games at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.
Paul Tan-Chi insisted he never asked Tenorio any favor for his son.
“No. Tryouts yan eh. Ang daming batang nag-try out. Nalaman ko na lang na nakuha si Ethan after na,”
Miranda, Tan-Chi, and Cabañero have proven they earned their spots on the team, providing steady playmaking and timely offense.
Tenorio explained that he picked his players based on who will thrive in his system patterned after that of Gilas Pilipinas Men and Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
“Kung maging successful man ang system or hindi, as long as we have the system, at saka yung mga sinusunod ng mga bata, we'll be okay. Kung anuman sabihin ang mga tao, wala namang kami ng control doon. Sila ng outside lang nakakakita niyan. They have the right.”
“But for us, kami nandito sa loob, we know kung anumang kailangan namin gawin. Alam ng mga players kung anong sistema gusto namin i-impart sa kanila at itakbo namin to be successful,” he added.
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