Alaska gave away Tenorio

One of the many questions Pinoy basketball fans had been asking about Jones Cup hero LA Tenorio was answered yesterday afternoon.

He will be part of the same Smart Gilas national team which will compete in the Fiba Asia Cup (formerly Stankovic Cup) next month. This tournament will serve as qualifier to next year’s Fiba Asia Championship which the Philippines is bidding to host.

“What team released him for this September stint in Japan,” I asked PBA media bureau head Willie Marcial, hoping to get the latest update on the Jones Cup MVP.

Tenorio is said to be the subject of a trade between Alaska and Barangay Ginebra, although he initially suspected that he had been traded to Meralco on draft day last Aug. 19.

Marcial said it was Alaska.

I wondered if Tenorio had decided to remain with the Aces. Or will an official announcement on a trade between Alaska and Ginebra be announced after the Fiba Asia Cup?

From what I gathered, Tenorio has long been unhappy with his team, and thus had not been giving his 100 percent to the game.

The rift between Tenorio and management reportedly deepened after the cager joined Smart Gilas despite being disallowed by management.

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Last Sunday I bumped into former Philippine Basketball League official Tommy Ong at a Japanese bargain store in Quezon City.

Simultaneous with the foldup of the amateur league which he served for many years,  Tommy said he cut all his ties with basketball. He is now more concerned with the business of dying, he said.

“What do you mean? What are you doing now?” Unlike his partner in the PBL, Butch Maniego, who has managed to stay connected by moving on to the PBA’s Developmental League, I had completely lost track of Ong.

Ong dug into his pocket for his wallet and pulled out a business card which he handed to me with both hands.

“Corporate Consultant, Sanctuarium,” it read.

The card nearly slipped off my shaking  fingers.

“Actually, I’m on my way there now. I just dropped by to buy something,” he said. “I’ve helped many of our friends in the sporting community in this new endeavor. I’ve given discounts, I’ve given away caskets for free.”

Coincidentally, that very same afternoon, I got a call from Maniego, who was confined in a hospital and had been unable to walk  because of a spine ailment.

According to Maniego, who has been having dialysis for six years due to kidney failure, a complication of his diabetes, he felt sick and weak one day. He felt very sick that he lost consciousness and was comatose for some time.