WE all know Barangay Ginebra’s LA Tenorio is now the acknowledged Iron Man in the PBA, having broken Alvin Patrimonio’s erstwhile all-time record for consecutive games played of 596 which stood for more than 14 years.
March 17 last year in a Manila Clasico 2019 Philippine Cup eliminations game at the Big Dome which the Kings eventually won in overtime 97-93, Tenorio played his 597th PBA game coincidentally against Magnolia where Patrimonio is team manager.
By the time the season ended last January 17 when Barangay Ginebra reclaimed the Governors Cup with another championship win over getting-to-be perennnial third conference Finals victim Meralco, Tenorio had already extended his all-time league mark to 641 consecutive games.
Even with numerous stints with the Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team, the 5-foot-8 former Ateneo Blue Eagle has played non-stop in the pros - meaning, he hasn’t missed a single game for his mother ballclub - since being drafted No. 4 overall in the 2006 PBA Draft by San Miguel Beer.
Having just turned 35 last July 9, Tenorio is expected to extend further his record during his remaining years in the league, specially with this pandemic giving him a chance to recharge his batteries which should make him fresh and ready to plod on by the time the league resumes, whenever that time will be.
But if Tenorio is the current PBA Iron Man, little Iron Men abound and are on the rise.
Like Tenorio, there are many backcourtmen in the PBA who have also not missed a single game since entering the league via the draft, and/or are on consecutive games played streaks themselves.
Heading that list is Magnolia’s Mark Barroca, who also hasn’t missed a game since being tabbed fifth overall in the 2011 PBA draft by new team Shopinas.com before being traded to B-Meg in a three-team, five-player deal.
Through the 45th season-opening game last March 8 before the league went on hiatus because of Covid-19, Barroca has already played in 441 consecutive games and is now running third on the all-time list for consecutive games played.
The next longest active streak after Barroca is that of Phoenix starting point guard RJ Jazul who is now at 327 consecutive games. Jazul hasn’t missed a game in more than eight years, or since his Alaska days.
Aside from Barroca, Brgy. Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson and Meralco’s Chris Newsome also haven’t missed any game in the PBA since they joined the league in 2015 as the fifth and fourth selections, respectively, of the draft.
Thompson is now at 222 straight games and Newsome has 185.
But I’d like to look at toughness and longevity in the league not just in games played alone but also in minutes played.
For instance, Tenorio hasn’t just played in all his team’s 641 games but also at an average of 33 minutes per game. Now, that is tough.
Fact is, Tenorio and San Miguel Beer forward Arwind Santos are the only players that have played at least 1,000 minutes every season in each of their 13 seasons in the PBA, at least 1,200 actually for Santos.
Digging deeper into Santos’ numbers, he has actually just missed 11 games in his entire career, or 670 out of 681 total games — a high 98.4% attendance. And the 2013 league MVP has also averaged 32 minutes per game in his career. Now that is also tough.
The player with the next longest active streak of at least 1,000 minutes every season is Rain or Shine’s Gabe Norwood, who has done so his entire career in the PBA.
Norwood has averaged close to 30 minutes per game in his career and has also missed just 12 games since being made the top overall pick in the 2008 PBA Draft — 533 out of 545 games, also an impressive 97.8% clip for lacing up.
Among the active players, Norwood’s teammate and two-time MVP James Yap was the only other player who played at least 1,000 minutes in each of this first 11 seasons in the PBA. But his streak ended at 11 four seasons ago.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
