IF San Miguel can do it, so can Barangay Ginebra.
LA Tenorio is confident the Gin Kings are capable of pulling off a monumental comeback from the predicament they are facing now - down 3-1 in the PBA Philippine Finals against the Beermen.
After the Beermen managed to rally from three games down to stun Alaska in the last Philippine Cup Finals for the greatest comeback in league history, the never-say-die Gin Kings try to do the same in a bit smaller scale, starting in Game Five on Sunday.
“Well nagawa nila, so kaya rin naman namin yun,” Tenorio said. “Again, we just have to get the game on Sunday. Yun lang iisipin namin. We're not looking forward, we're not looking at tying the series right away. 'Di naman namin mata-tie yung series kung 'di namin maipapanalo on Sunday eh.”
“Well, still the same. 'Di naman kami na-out eh. 'Di pa tapos,” he added. “We still have a chance. We just have to do it the right way. One game at a time.”
[See SMB a win away from Philippine Cup three-peat]
Tenorio was hardly surprised the Beermen scored the game’s first 11 points, setting the tone for the wire-to-wire victory.
“Well, may potential silang gawin yun eh,” the veteran playmaker said. “Ginawa nila yun sa amin nung Game One. Ginawa rin sa 'min nung Game Two nung third quarter. Capable sila to do that, so we just have to be more ready sa mga ganung run nila na hindi dapat kami nagpa-panic.”
Tenorio, who registered 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting, and added four assists and three boards while not committing a single turnover in 34 minutes, believes it’s the Gin Kings defense that needs to be consistent for them to stay alive.
“Kailangan lang namin maging aggressive talaga for forty-eight minutes defensively,” he said. “Tsaka marami rin kaming lapses eh, so we'll see in the video kung ano yung mga kailangan naming i-adjust.
“We don't have any choice now,” he added. “We just have to do yung mga kailangan lang namin gawin.”
[See No backing down for feisty Ginebra rookie Ferrer]