Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
There are still a few games until the start of the quarterfinals, but LA Tenorio and the rest of Ginebra are already in playoff mode.
The Gin Kings are currently in ninth place in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup with a 3-5 record and if the playoffs started on Sunday the crowd darlings would be on the outside looking in.
Ginebra still has three more games left, all of which are being treated by Tenorio as knockout games if the Gin Kings want to avoid an early exit.
“Basically every game for us is a knockout one so we treat every game now as a do-or-die game,” said Tenorio after Ginebra dominated Magnolia. 104-84, at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We’re at the bottom of the standings and we started really flat at the start of the conference so right now, we’re trying to catch up,” added Tenorio in Filipino.
The Gin Kings started the Commissioner’s Cup losing five of their first six games that immediately put them at the bottom and it was only their win against the Hotshots that marked their first winning streak this conference.
Ginebra, though, still has a lot of work to do with its next two games against teams with better records in Columbian, Alaska, and GlobalPort.
“We cannot afford to relax in the remaining games this elimination round,” said Tenorio, who had 22 points, six rebounds, and five assists.