LA Tenorio felt Barangay Ginebra failed to make the most of a rare opportunity after neutralizing June Mar Fajardo yet still coming up short against San Miguel Beer, absorbing a 72-70 defeat against the Beermen in their PBA Philippine Cup matchup on Sunday night.
The Gin Kings managed to limit Fajardo, who came in averaging 20.9 points, to just nine points on six shots – the first time the three-time reigning MVP was held to single-digit scoring this conference.
Yet Ginebra still lost and dropped below .500 with a 3-4 win-loss record.
“It is (a lost opportunity),” Tenorio said. “Kung iisipin mo, nakaka-disappoint talaga. We should be disappointed in this game.”
“Pero looking at the bigger picture, I think if we can do that against June Mar, there’s no other June Mar sa next games namin eh,” he added, referring to their last four games in the eliminations.
Tenorio, who finished with eight points, four assists, and two boards, had a chance to at least send the game into overtime, but missed a midrange jumper over the elite defense of Arwind Santos – a play the Ginebra point guard refused to make a fuss about.
“The last play was designed na kunin ko yung bola,” Tenorio said of the play coach Tim Cone designed. “Diskarte ko na yun eh. Pag ganyan naman, hinahayaan na naman niya ako eh. Nag-miss lang yung tira ko, pero ganun talaga.
“Aside from that one shot, I think if we’re going to look at the whole game, I think it’s a good sign for us,” he added. “If we play like that in the next games, may mararating yung team namin.”
“Hawak pa rin namin yung baraha namin,” the veteran playmaker continued. “If we play like that against other teams, I think malaki yung chance naming manalo.”