Tenorio takes charge late as Ginebra shuts door on Talk ‘N Text

As if on cue, LA Tenorio took his turn in shining in the endgame and left Jimmy Alapag and Talk ‘N Text in his wake.
Outplayed terribly by Alapag in the stretch just two nights before, Tenorio was the biggest man on the floor in the fourth period for Barangay Ginebra Tuesday night, keying a 110-102 victory that put the Gin Kings in the PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs.
The 5-foot-9 point guard scored all of his 10 fourth quarter points inside the final 6:57, taking over for the Kings after they almost blew a 21-point lead.
It was also Tenorio who seemingly took matters into his own hands going into the last 2:53, when reigning MVP and Ginebra team leader Mark Caguioa stepped off the floor after being called for his final foul off Larry Fonacier.
“I told him (Caguioa): I’ll take care of this,” Tenorio told reporters with a smile, when asked what he whispered in Caguioa’s ear. “It was kind of boastful. But I needed to assure him in a way.”
Tenorio said those words after that Caguioa foul had Talk ‘N Text creeping to within 98-101. He then scored the final seven points for the Gin Kings, including the insurance three-point play off Fonacier that made it 108-98 with 63 ticks left.
“I told myself that it’s time that I took charge, like last conference when Mark (Caguioa) wasn’t there,” Tenorio said.
Ginebra thus advanced to a quarterfinal clash with rock-solid No. 1 Petron Blaze on Thursday, with the Kings needing to beat the Boosters two straight times to earn a seat in the Final Four.
This will be a very similar scenario for the Kings, who also defeated the higher-ranked Rain or Shine Elasto Painters twice in the Commissioner’s Cup – without Caguioa – before eventually making the best-of-five title series opposite Alaska.
The Ginebra win also gave Tenorio a chance for the season MVP award and ended Talk ‘N Text guard Jason Castro’s bid at the same time.
This is also the first time in 10 conferences that Talk ‘N Text – the most dominant team of the decade – has failed to make it past the elimination round.
Tenorio won the Commissioner’s Cup’s Best Player of the Conference trophy, while Castro won the same in the Philippine Cup to automatically become candidates for the MVP.
Ginebra started out hot and built an 11-point lead at the end of the first period before closing out the half sitting on a 57-41 bubble at the turn.
The Kings bloated this to as large as 70-49 after a Dior Lowhorn short stab with 8:42 left in the third, only for the Texters to catch fire behind import Courtney Fells, who scored 19 points in the period to get Talk ‘N Text back in the game.
And unlike in a 113-99 Talk ‘N Text victory on Sunday when Alapag scored 12 points in the final 6:26, Ginebra bottled up Alapag no end this time and made sure that there wouldn’t be a reprise of that performance.
Alapag, the 2010 MVP, had just six points and was scoreless in the fourth period.
Meanwhile, No. 2 San Mig Coffee and No. 3 Meralco clash with separate foes Wednesday as the quarterfinal round officially starts also at the Big Dome in Cubao.
Both the Mixers and the Bolts need to win just once opposite Alaska and Barako Bull, respectively, to arrange a Final Four clash.
San Mig will be taking a five-game winning streak into its 7:30 p.m. clash with the Aces, while Meralco will have its defense tested by the handful of Barako Bull veterans and the best scorer in the tournament in Mike Singletary.
Singletary is averaging 36 points a contest and it is obviously a major concern for Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio.
“Our defense which brought us to where we are right now will be tested to the hilt,” Gregorio said. “Our lock down defensive mentality must be present at all times (during the series).”