Tenorio blames poor shooting, rebounding for Ginebra’s game 3 loss to Talk N’ Text
MANILA, Philippines — Barangay Ginebra couldn’t shoot the ball, much less handle the boards to save its life on Wednesday, as it watched Talk N’ Text pad onto the lead.
Guard L.A. Tenorio admitted that when the Texters pushed the lead to 21 points with 7:25 to play, the Kings — usually the “never say die” squad — just didn’t have it in them to make a final push.
“Di kami maka-shoot, di kami makadepensa. Yun ang nangyari. Wala na eh, everyone’s down na [nung fourth quarter]. Might as well i-pahinga na lang for Friday’s game,” said Tenorio.
“One factor din kaya siguro nagkaganun kasi di kami maka-shoot kaya walang gana dumepensa.”
The Texters went on to win 98-80 for a 2-1 lead in the semifinals.
It was a struggle all night for Ginebra to get any sort of momentum going as it went 4-of-27 (14.8%) from the three-point area, and 23-of-60 (38.3%) from the inside the arch.
And these numbers just paled in comparison to the Texters’ who had a 44.9% field goal percentage, on top of a commanding 65-46 edge in rebounds.
And Tenorio admitted that this Ginebra squad was far from that team which destroyed Talk N’ Text in game one before the All-Star break.
“Nagpalit ng sitwasyon eh. Kung ano sila nung game 1, ganun kami ngayon,” said Tenorio, who was the last to come out of the dugout after the game.
“Ito yung isa sa mga game na nangyayari talaga, mahirap lang kasi ngayon pa nangyari [ngayong semifinals].”
The Kings saw their five-point halftime lead disappear, as the Texters — led by new import Tony Mitchell — got their groove.
“Isa rin factor medyo di naman ine-expect na ganun yung game nya [Mitchell],” said Tenorio of the Texters’ new import who finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds.
Tenorio, and the entire Kings know every aspect that had gone wrong for them and the coaching staff did not fail to point that out in their post-game talk.
“Iniisa isa [mga mali namin], we have to know what, the things we did wrong,” Tenorio shared. “Di kami maka-shoot, tapos [lamang] sila sa rebound tapos sila pa yung small team.
“And we have to play defense. Yes we can’t shoot, but walang off night sa defense eh.”
But unlike what they did in the fourth quarter of game three, the Kings are not giving up on the series just yet, knowing they have came back from the same debacle in the past.
“We’ve been in this situation many times. We know na di magiging madali tong series na ’to. We still have a chance. We need to refocus,” he said.
