LA Tenorio eyes PBA comeback in October

LA Tenorio (black shirt) PBA PHOTO 

Barangay Ginebra’s veteran star playmaker LA Tenorio is itching to make his basketball comeback by the time the PBA kicks off its 48th season this October 15 at the the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

But first things first, the 38-year-old Tenorio is focusing on his medical treatment as he continues his recovery from colon cancer.

The eight-time PBA champion has been flying from Manila to Singapore every two weeks to get his treatment. And he’s got San Miguel Corp. big boss Ramos S. Ang and SMC sports director and concurrent Barangay Ginebra governor Alfrancis Chua to thank for.

“Since the beginning, boss RSA and boss Al Chua have been helping me, always checking on me how I’m doing and reminding me not to worry too much but to just focus on my recovery,” Tenorio said in Filipino, in a statement released to media outlets on Monday.

“But for now, I’m helping the team out as assistant coach, focusing on giving pointers to our players in practice,” he added.

“For now, my treatment is ongoing. And every two weeks, I travel (to Singapore) for my sessions. It’s a long process but I’m optimistic and so far, I’m getting good feedback from my doctors and of course, I’m continually praying that I’ll recover well and fast,” shared Tenorio, who concluded his 10th year with Ginebra at the close of the 2022-23 season.

Admittedly, Tenorio said he has been wanting to get back into the game he loved with a passion. In fact, he shared that during Ginebra’s Finals run in the Governors’ Cup, he wanted to play and try to help the team defend its crown.

Unfortunately, the Kings failed to defend their season-ending conference crown, and in the process, yielded the championship to the TNT Tropang Giga under first time head coach Jojo Lastimosa.

“Through God’s mercy, I hope to be able to return to action by October. But the important thing is my medication is done by then, and also, I just need to get back to getting my body in game condition. I just need to be ready so I can help the team,” said Tenorio, who recently did the pilot episode of SMC’s newest vlog Sa’n Si Miguel, which aims to engage audiences and provide information on the Philippine multinational conglomerate’s various projects in support of nation-building.

Tenorio played during the first six games of the Governors’ Cup, before startling the entire basketball world after announcing he had stage 3 colon cancer last March.

He managed to show up and sat on the Ginebra bench during the early round of the Governors’ Cup playoffs to support the Kings.