“It’s alright to lose big, rather than take one in overtime, and by a point at that,” he said.
On a rainy Friday night, Tenorio made sure no collapse would occur again.
The Aces’ point guard scored all of the ball club’s final nine points, and Alaska held off Powerade, 78-70, in the lowest-scoring game by far in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Tenorio was simply spectacular when the Aces needed an offensive boost during the time when the Tigers were on the heat of their scoring assault from 16 points down in the fourth quarter, hitting back-to-back three-point shots and converting three of his four foul shots in the closing seconds as the 13-time champion franchise rose to 3-3.
That gave the Aces a huge quantity of relief since a defeat would have pulled them down at seventh spot, now occupied by the Tigers, and likewise showed how tough Alaska’s character is coming from a painful loss.
“I was hoping that I would be here last game,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone, referring to the match against Petron that went into overtime before the Aces eventually lost, 82-81. “It was good bounce back game for us. It was a tough loss last time. The main thing here is that you put it behind and stay focused.
“I’m happy we were able to come out and battle them. I don’t think we played a confident game but we battled them. What we did so well was we defended, and Sonny (Thoss) did one heck of a job against (Chris) Porter.” Thoss recorded a third double-double in Alaska’s last four outings, scoring 14 point points and 11 rebounds, while import Jason Forte had 16 points and 12 boards.
Tenorio, celebrating his 27th birthday Saturday, collected a team-high 20 points on top of six rebounds and six assists.
“Magandang birthday gift ito,” said Tenorio.
Since both teams applied premium on defense, the team that made a big run was expected to win. And Alaska did just that when it unloaded an 18-5 blast, stretching a shaky 51-48 lead to 69-53 with 6:35 remaining in the final period.
But Powerade, coming from a 98-96 win over Rain or Shine, fought back. Celino Cruz capped an 8-0 run with a breakaway lay-up, 69-61, before Tenorio knocked in his third triple of the night. After Gary David scored, Tenorio once again hit a shot from rainbow territory to seal the outcome, 75-63 with 1:28 left to play.
Ginebra, meantime, survived a gritty Air21 squad and the absence of its import Curtis Stinson, banking on a crucial defensive gem by Ronald Tubid to hold off the Express, 89-87 later in the night.
Tubid came through with a well-timed block off import Alpha Bangura with two seconds left in what could have been a perfectly-executed baseline inbounds play by Air21, and Bangura also missed the last second shot at the right corner as the Kings rebounded from a 123-113 defeat to Talk ‘N Text to claim their third win in five games.
So horrible was Bangura’s performance that he only managed to score seven points on 3-of-15 shooting from the field, something that was unheard of for an import who guided the franchise to a semifinals stint in the previous Commissioner’s Cup.
“We needed this win,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico. “It was a good win without an import. Very close, it could have gone either way.” Ginebra saw action without their versatile reinforcement, who suffered a bruised right knee during the TNT game. He is still doubtful for Sunday’s game against B-Meg, and may not return at all if Ginebra finds its incoming import brilliant and fit for its run-and-gun system.
Uichico refused to name the import, though.
Mark Caguioa had 21 points, John Wilson and JC Intal came off the bench to combine for 27 points while Tubid ended with 11 for Ginebra, which tied Rain or Shine and Meralco for the third best record.
Meanwhile, the PBA Board of Governors finally agreed to what lone bidder TV-5 has offered to broadcast and market the league’s games for the next five years, a deal broken down in cash, promotional packages and advertising spots amounting to P965 million.
TV-5, owned by PLDT big boss Manny V. Pangilinan, takes over from Solar Sports starting from the 2011-12 season in October at a time when the PBA returns to a 10-team cast after the Board likewise approved the sale of Barako Coffee to Air21, making Linaheim Corp. as the third multi-ball club owner.
“I’m excited to work with TV-5 as our new marketing partner and TV coveror,” said Salud. “The PBA leadership is looking forward to this partnership as a means to bring the league to the next level in terms of awareness, fan base, and prestige.” In accepting the deal, the PBA will receive P700 million in cash, P150 million in marketing and promotional packages and another P115 million worth of advertising spots that will span up to the 2015-16 season.
