There was a humbling tone in the voice of Magnolia coach LA Tenorio as his rookie season came to a close in a rough way with a quarterfinal sweep at the hands of TNT.
And Tenorio knows that there are plenty of things to work on before he can find himself among the elite coaches of the league.
‘Madami pa din akong kakainin na bigas (I still have a lot to learn),’ Tenorio admitted after the Hotshots’ 98-87 loss to the TNT Tropang 5G that eliminated them from the season-ending PBA Governors’ Cup.
Tenorio’s maiden year calling the shots concluded with Magnolia getting ousted in the quarterfinals of all three conferences, two of which at TNT’s expense.
But the Governors’ Cup proved to be a tipping point for Tenorio as Magnolia absorbed one beating after another in the quarters despite topping Group B behind a late flurry of six consecutive victories.
Game 2 saw Tenorio throw a fit at his players when he shouted some unprintable remarks about the way Magnolia played, or the lack thereof. It became viral on social media, which also surprised Tenorio.
‘Ganun pala ako magalit. Straight English,’ Tenorio said in jest. ‘But sometimes you have to let it out and they have to hear it because maybe the players are getting too comfortable with me because I don’t get mad like that.
‘They just have to hear it sometimes and they heard it from me after the game. After that, move on,’ he continued. ‘That’s the thing, you really have that relationship and understanding so that they won’t take it personally. And they agreed why I got mad because I kept telling them what to do, but they couldn’t execute it.’
It was one of the lessons Tenorio will carry into the offseason and into Season 51, which starts in March as Magnolia begins another quest to end its playoff misfortunes.
For the season that just ended for the Hotshots, it finally confirmed Tenorio’s comfort zone in a way.
‘Now I can say that I’m officially a head coach,’ Tenorio said.