TALK about a dream start to a new chapter in his illustrious basketball career, as Gilas Pilipinas Youth’s newly appointed head coach, LA Tenorio, and the rest of his team have now won three consecutive games in a blowout. 

The Tenorio-coached group couldn’t have gotten off to a better start in the first weekend of the FIBA Under 16 Asia Cup SEABA Qualifiers, going 2-0 to make their presence known.

In their debut game, the Gilas Youth thrashed Vietnam 113-62 on Saturday at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center, followed by another lopsided 87-42 triumph over Thailand on Sunday. 

While these victories are clearly stunning, the young team continues to demonstrate that there is no limit to outstanding talent, defeating Singapore by 64 points on Monday to remain unbeaten.

Perfect Weekend

Gilas U16 got off to an ineffective start in their opener against Vietnam, trailing 4-13 in the first quarter and forcing Tenorio to call an early timeout less than three minutes into the game. 

From what appeared to be early indicators of bad habits, the Philippine squad pushed full throttle and dominated the entire game from there on. To reverse the situation, the squad went on a 25-7 run at the end of the first quarter. 

As the margin grew, Tenorio had the opportunity to field all 12 of his players, a move that would boost one’s confidence. On opening day, the Philippines became the only team in the six-team field to score 100 points.

With a taste of both worlds, Gilas Youth ensured victory as early as the first quarter in their next encounter. Thailand was on the losing end of history, as the Philippines scored a whopping 31-0 in the first quarter. 

The Thais responded with a 19-16 second-quarter run over Gilas. However, the second quarter proved to be the Thais’ sole ray of hope, as the Philippines kept them to nine points in the third and sealed the victory.

With a taste of both worlds, Gilas Youth ensured victory as early as the first quarter in their next encounter. Thailand was on the losing end of history, as the Philippines scored a whopping 31-0 in the first quarter. 

The Thais responded with a 19-16 second-quarter run over Gilas. However, the second quarter proved to be the Thais’ sole ray of hope, as the Philippines kept them to nine points in the third and sealed the victory.

Just when you thought you’d witnessed enough blowout wins, the Gilas Youth showed that they’re not done yet. The U16 team put in twice as much effort last night as they did in their first two games. 

Batang Gilas overcame an early push from the visitors and led and dominated the rest of the game, finishing with their largest advantage of 64 points to hand Singapore their third consecutive loss. 

It is worth noting that they held their opponent to a terrible 19.2 percent shooting, allowing them to hit only 10 of their 52 shots while holding them to less than 40 points, the lowest output in three games.

“What I like about today’s game is really the commitment on defense,” Tenorio told the reporters after their massive, highlighting how important it is for the whole squad to give their all on the defensive end.

“‘Yung disiplina sa depensa na hindi lang agaw ng agaw, but playing hard and aggressive. We were way better than the past two games. Yun yung gusto naming tema,” Tenorio added.

Continue The Work

Despite these blowout victories in his brief coaching tenure, Tenorio acknowledges that there is still a lot of work to be done. Especially for the recently established Gilas Youth squad, which is still learning the system.

“Still a lot of things that we have to really work on aside from yesterday. Yes, we won today, we won again, but we really have to get better sa mga iba pang bagay. Marami pa. Maraming pa kaming lapses,” Tenorio said on Sunday.

“Every time we watch the video [of our games], nakikita yung mga lapses. Hopefully, the next games, we’ll get better para by the end of this tournament, masabi namin na nagawa namin yung mga dapat naming gawin,” he added.

Meanwhile, his mentor, Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone, was in attendance on Sunday alongside national team deputy Sean Chambers. Tenorio is grateful for their collective support.

“Nakakatabang puso na yung mentor mo talagang pinapanood ka. Hopefully, this is not the first and the last time he comes out and supports us,” Tenorio told a media after their win yesterday.

“Even on a busy schedule, nandito siya, so you will really appreciate it na he’ll drive here pa [to Pampanga). As a young coach, gusto mo yung mentor mo is always there to mentor you and to look at you,” he added.

Giving Credit to the OG

Tenorio credited Cone’s system, which he admitted to use, and emphasized why there is a need to use a familiar system. Not to mention the importance of connecting the two programs in the future.

“Probably 90 percent, 95 percent. Actually. I’m really doing the same system with the Gilas men’s team and coach Tim’s system [with Ginebra],” Tenorio said when asked what he picked up from his longtime coach.

“Kasi most of my career, I played for coach Tim and we’ve been successful together. Him as my coach and [me] his player, napakalaking bagay nun,” he went on to explain.

Nonetheless, Gilas Youth rests today before returning to action and defending their unblemished record against Indonesia, who’s also holding a 3-0 win-loss record, on Wednesday.