MAKE that, Coach LA.
Sources from inside the San Miguel Corp. camp have confirmed to SPIN.ph the imminent transfer and ascencion of Barangay Ginebra Kings star point guard LA Tenorio to the head-coaching job of the Magnolia Hotshots.
The move, once it pushes through, will finally put an end to the nine-year tenure of Chito Victolero at Magnolia, where he won the 2018 Governors Cup title but has since descended into seasons of disappointment.
Tenorio’s coaching appointment at Magnolia was first reported by SPIN.ph contributor Snow Badua in a post last July 10.
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Victolero has been the object of fans’ ire, mostly those from Magnolia, for his failure to win a another championship. especially last season when the Hotshots rebuilt with new acquisitions like Zavier Lucero and Will Navarro.
Since winning a title seven years ago, Magnolia has lost in three finals against San Miguel in 2019 Philippine Cup, TNT in the same conference the following year, and against the Beermen anew in the 2023-2024 Commissioner’s Cup.
READ Is 'Iron Man' Tenorio retiring after Ginebra's Game 7 loss?
During that span, the Hotshots, one of the teams with the strong lineups on paper, have also failed to move past the semifinals 11 times.
Victolero will be the second coach in the SMC group to receive a pink slip after Jorge Gallent, who was replaced by returning Beermen coach Leo Austria last December.
Austria has since made an instant impact back at the Beermen’s driver’s seat by winning the recent Philippine Cup, his seventh of the conference and 10th overall, denying the TNT Tropang Giga a taste of the rare PBA grand slam.
Tenorio, 41, has had ample preparation for a coaching job, having been a deputy coach of Gilas Pilipinas and Ginebra in a concurrent role and, most recently, taking over the reins of the Gilas Youth team.
However, he was non-committal when asked if he was ready to hang up his jersey when asked at the end of Ginebra's season, which he highlighted with the game-winning three-pointer against San Miguel in Game 6.
“Honestly, I don’t know what’s going to happen to me for the next few weeks, next few months. So we’ll see,” he said when asked after the Game Seven loss. “Hindi ko pa alam yung plano ko. I don’t know.
“We’ll see. You will hear it from me definitely in the next few weeks.”
The shift from active player to head coach may not be the only change that will be hard to ge used to for Tenorio; so is the switch from Ginebra red to the colors of Magnolia - for so long the Kings' arch-rival and 'Manila Clasico' opponents.
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