Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
There were several factors that led to Ginebra’s 103-98 double overtime loss to Phoenix, but it was the turnovers in the crucial moments that dealt the biggest blows.
And one such incident was LA Tenorio’s costly error with 2:19 left in the second overtime.
“It’s painful if you look at it in the short term, it was a costly turnover but I think we’re not going to look at the game because of that turnover,” said Tenorio in Filipino Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum. “We’re going to look at the whole game and there were also a lot of missed chances.”
Tenorio’s turnover wasn’t the first miscue a Ginebra point guard committed late with Scottie Thompson making a similar passing error just 25 seconds earlier.
Curiously, both passes had one intended recipient in Joe Devance.
Tenorio and Thompson, however, weren’t the only Gin Kings who committed late-game blunders.
Forward Japeth Aguilar turned from hero to goat when his game-tying triple in regulation became a mere footnote later in the match after he muffed two crucial layups.
Aguilar’s first miss happened with five seconds left in the first overtime that would’ve broken the 92-92 tie, and the second came in the last 19 seconds of the game when he air balled an attempt that would’ve cut the deficit to a point.
“It happens, I missed,” said Aguilar, who had 25 points and nine boards, in Filipino. “But that’s not the issue, because we had chances in the second overtime. I thought we had some good looks but we didn’t convert and had some crucial turnovers.”
Tenorio, whose team climbed back from a 46-30 hole at the half, said the team is still adjusting to a new system that will cater three big men—Greg Slaughter, Aguilar, and import Charles Garcia—in a five-man lineup.
“We didn’t start well especially us in the starting five and we’re still adjusting with what we’re doing especially we now have three bigs so we have to be patient,” said Tenorio. “We’re there, we actually made adjustments and we just have to be consistent.”