LA Tenorio

LA Tenorio

No. 5 – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
Position	Point guard
League	PBA
Personal information
Born	(1984-07-09) July 9, 1984 Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino
Listed height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Listed weight	151 lb (68 kg)
Career information
High school	San Beda College
College	Ateneo de Manila University
PBA draft	2006: 1st round, 4th overall pick
Selected by the San Miguel Beermen
Playing career	2006–present
Career history
2006–2008	Magnolia Beverage Masters / San Miguel Beermen
2008–2012	Alaska Aces
2012–present	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
Career highlights and awards
PBA champion (2010 Fiesta) PBA Most Improved Player (2010) PBA Finals Most Valuable Player (w/ Cyrus Baguio) (2010 Fiesta) PBA Best Player of the Conference (2013 Commissioner's) 6× PBA All-Star (2009, 2011–2015) 2× PBA Mythical First Team (2010, 2013) Member of PBA's 5000th Point Club PBA All-Rookie Team (2007) UAAP champion (2002) UAAP Mythical Team (2004) William Jones Cup MVP (2012)
Medals Men's Basketball Representing Philippines William Jones Cup 2012 Taipei Team FIBA Asia Championship 2013 Manila Team FIBA Asia Cup 2014 Wuhan Team

Lewis Alfred Vasquez "LA" Tenorio (born July 9, 1984) is a Filipino basketball point guard who plays for Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). His combination of speed, strength, athleticism, perimeter shooting, penetrating the lane, precision passing and relentless on-ball defense has made him a name as a complete player and a consistent winner.

Early life and high school years

Tenorio started playing basketball when he was 6 years old. No one really saw him play or his potential, but he tried his luck to join a basketball team when he was in grade three at Don Bosco Makati. He, then in grade six, played a nationally-televised exhibition game in front of a PBA audience. His team faced the Ateneo Grade School’s Small Basketeers Team. Tenorio's team did not win, but he pretty much stole the show, scoring 31 points in only 21 minutes of play.

After his elementary days were over, he first went to Adamson under coach Charlie Dy before eventually transferring to San Beda under legendary bench tactician Ato Badolato. LA became part of a Bedan squad that was rife with future collegiate stars – Magnum Membrere, Arjun Cordero, Toti Almeda, and Jon Jon Tabique. He won a title in his junior year, but finished just third in his last year with the Red Cubs.

College and amateur career

Tenorio made an immediate impact as a rookie for the Blue Eagles of Ateneo de Manila as he helped lead his team into the 2001 basketball Finals of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). He was practically unstoppable in Game 3 of the Best-of-3 Finals Series as he scored 30 points against their college rival De La Salle University-Manila. DLSU-Manila however would go on to win that series.

The following year, in 2002, he would once again lead the Ateneo de Manila back to the UAAP Finals. This time he and his team would not be denied as they exacted vengeance on DLSU-Manila to win the UAAP Men's Seniors basketball championship.

He would make a third straight Finals appearance in 2003 but he and his Blue Eagle team would yield their crown to the veteran Far Eastern University Tamaraws.

He played a total of five seasons with Ateneo de Manila and also graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2006, something he considers a far more important achievement than any of the basketball accolades he ever got. He played under four college coaches: Joe Lipa, Joel Banal, Sandy Arespacochaga and Norman Black.

After completing his collegiate eligibility he then saw action in the quasi-commercial basketball league of the Philippines, the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) the last stepping stone towards achieving a professional basketball career. In his last PBL Conference he led his Harbour Centre Portmasters team to the 2006 PBL Unity Cup championship, a fitting end to his career as an amateur player.

PBA career

In the 2006 PBA draft Tenorio was the fourth overall draft pick by the San Miguel Beermen. He played an average of 25.5 minutes for Magnolia with a respectable average of 7.8 points, 4.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds in nine games.

In a surprise move in March, 2008 the Alaska Aces traded Mike Cortez and Ken Bono for Magnolia’s LA Tenorio and Larry Fonacier. The Aces have been happy with the trade as they got a pure point guard in Tenorio to make life easier for Willie Miller who could now concentrate on his scoring.

In the first four games of the 2009-2010 KFC-PBA Philippine Cup Tenorio has not disappointed the Alaska expectation. As a starting point guard Tenorio led the Alaska team to a scrambling victory over San Miguel Beer in their first game. In their next three games Tenorio was ever the reliable point guard who led his team to the top of the standings in the PBA.

In August 31, 2012, Tenorio was traded to the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in a six-player blockbuster deal. Tenorio was also famous because of his "Pambansang reverse" which is a reverse lay up made him famous in international basketball.

International career

Tenorio made his name on the final list of the Smart Gilas 2.0 roster. The first tournament of the Gilas were the prestigious 2012 William Jones Cup which was held from August 18–26 in Taipei. Gilas had an impressive 6-1 record, before battling out the USA Team for their last game. Tenorio led the team to beat the USA team 76-75, finishing with 20 points and grabbing the most important rebound of the game. Gilas won the tournament with a 7-1 record, and the 4th championship of the Philippines in the Jones Cup. Tenorio eventually became the tournament's Most Valuable Player after his last performance against the tough USA Team.

PBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Correct as of October 9, 2015

Season-by-season averages

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2006–07	San Miguel	62	22.3	.363	.297	.824	2.5	3.2	1.0	.0	8.2
2007–08	Magnolia / Alaska	39	28.4	.405	.338	.701	3.6	4.5	1.2	.1	8.6
2008–09	Alaska	47	32.9	.312	.312	.785	4.2	4.7	1.2	.0	11.0
2009–10	Alaska	62	35.3	.399	.337	.844	4.6	4.6	1.2	.1	12.8
2010–11	Alaska	42	35.5	.394	.378	.833	4.8	4.5	1.3	.1	13.5
2011–12	Alaska	35	36.1	.373	.246	.800	5.4	5.4	1.2	.1	14.0
2012–13	Ginebra	52	36.0	.364	.297	.753	5.0	5.8	1.5	.1	14.0
2013–14	Ginebra	43	32.8	.376	.275	.830	4.3	5.5	1.3	.1	11.2
2014–15	Ginebra	37	29.2	.382	.333	.793	4.3	3.9	1.5	.0	10.0
Career		419	31.9	.401	.312	.796	4.2	4.6	1.2	.1	11.4

External links

• Player Profile at PBA-Online!