SHOWING support for LA Tenorio, Barangay Ginebra utility staff showed up for Game One of the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals wearing shirts with the #LAbanTENORIO hashtag prominently displayed at the front and his jersey No. 5 on the back.
On Sunday in Game Two, it was the turn of the players to wear the shirts to show support for their longtime team captain in his fight against colon cancer.
READ: Former altar boy Tenorio prays to our Lady of Antipolo
The shirts came from Ginebra fan NJ Madriaga, a 25-year-old call center agent who is actually no stranger to members of Ginebra utility staff. A few months ago, he was able to come up with a shirt for his personal use with a Justin Brownlee design in it, and he was able to convince the team’s staff to wear it during Game Four of the 2022-23 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals when Brownlee won the Best Import award.
Madriaga also came from a family of Ginebra fans starting with his grandfather, and had the rare achievement of watching all of the Kings' games during the 2022-23 Commissioner's Cup - from the opening game against Rain or Shine all the way to Game Seven of the finals against the Bay Area Dragons.
This time, Madriaga got the idea from a tweet by SMB guard Chris Ross saying they need shirts to show their support for Tenorio.
LOOK:
“Nakita ko po ‘yung tweet ni Chris Ross about kay LA. Gumagawa naman ako ng mga shirts dati na Ginebra design... Sabi ko, what if gumawa uli ako. Pero ang sole purpose ko lang is for personal use to show support,” said Madriaga.
"Ang nangyari naman is meron sa Ginebra community na magaling gumawa ng designs, si sir Jason Soriaga. Sabi ko po sa kanya, gawa naman po tayo ng design. Pinag-usapan po namin 'yung concept na kasama mo kami sa laban.
"May nag-reach out din po sa akin na kilala ko po sa Ginebra na 'yung staff, magsusuot daw sila. Sabi ko po, sige po gawa po tayo. Pagkagawa ko, nagustuhan naman po ng management," said Madriaga.
Madriaga doesn’t have his own T-shirt business so he had to ask for help with the printing from his girlfriend and two friends who also happen to be Ginebra fans.
"Medyo mabigat po 'yung funds to produce ng T-shirts for the team kaya tinulungan po ako ng girlfriend ko and dalawang friends to make this possible which happened to be mga diehard Ginebra fans din like me," said Madriaga.
Madriaga made it clear that the T-shirts are not for sale and not intended for profit or personal gain as he only wanted to draw support for Tenorio from the basketball community.
He, however, said the design is already posted online so that fans can print shirts on their own if they want to do so.
“Parang ang dating kasi if ever, alam niyo naman ‘yung ibang tao, pinagkakakitaan ‘yung sakit ni LA. From the very start, ‘yung purpose ko lang talaga is masuot ko personally to show support.
"Luckily lang po, napa-suot ko ‘yung players and staff. Meron po akong parang sinabi na may layout doon si idol Jason Soriaga, kanya-kanyang print na lang. Wag na lang pong i-for sale,” said Madriaga.
Madriaga said the shirt is his way of telling Tenorio that he is not alone in his battle with the dreaded disease.
“Hindi lang po para kay Kuya LA, para rin sa mga lumalaban sa colon cancer at ibang struggles sa buhay. Sabi nga nila di ba, ‘Never Say Die’ sa mga laban sa buhay,” said Madriaga.
“’Yung sa akin naman, more on hindi naman siya sakit pero sa struggles ng buhay, parang ang realization na mahirap i-face ‘yung mga problema sa buhay ng mag-isa. ‘Yung statement ng shirt is kasama mo kami sa laban,” said Madriaga.
Madriaga said Tenorio was able to speak to him during Game Two of the semifinals, and thanked him for his effort.
"Sabi niya, sobrang na-appreciate niya 'yung ginawa ko. Pati 'yung Mommy, Daddy, at ate niya, sobrang thankful sila. Sobrang grateful ako na napansin nila 'yung konting ginawa namin to show support," said Madriaga.
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