LA Tenorio didn’t take it against Jerom Lastimosa when he veered away from a final play drawn up by the Magnolia coach in their PBA Commissioner’s Cup opening game against Phoenix on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
With Magnolia down by four, Lastimosa disregarded Tenorio's instructions to go for a quick two, and instead went for a game-tying four-pointer which unfortunately missed as the Hotshots fell to the Fuel Masters, 101-98.
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Tenorio, however, shrugged off the incident and considered it part of the sophomore guard’s learning curve.
“That kind of decision-making, hinid ko naman kailangan kuwestiyunin yun,” said the Magnolia coach. “He felt he had that shot, so we gave it to Jerom.
“Ganun talaga, e. He took his chances.”
Until that make-or-break play, Lastimosa had an impressive all-around game of 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and had nine rebounds, and four assists.
He scored seven points in the final quarter alone, leading the Hotshots back from 13 points down to within 98-96 following his own layup with 52 seconds left to go.
“He brought us back to the game,” Tenorio acknowledged.
The Hotshots were down, 100-96, with 17 seconds remaining when Tenorio called his final timeout and instructed the Hotshots to go for a quick two, and then commit a duty foul on the Fuel Masters in order to stop the game clock.
The play didn’t happen.
After Lastimosa missed a four-point attempt, the Hotshots were forced to send JC Cular to the foul line and he split his free throws for the insurance point.
Tenorio is confident Lastimosa will learn from his error in judgment.
“Next time, kapag ginawa niya pa ulit yun, it’s OK. Until he learns,” said the 41-year-old Magnolia mentor. “Until he learns if that happens again, ano ang susunod mong gagawin.”
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