By Ivan Saldajeno
QUEZON CITY--A bone spur hampers LA Tenorio's right elbow right now.
"Pag tumatanda na, may mga buto na biglang tumutubo," Tenorio said about his injury.
But with the PBA Governors' Cup title defense on the line, the spitfire point guard opted to defer a surgery and played through the injured shooting arm.
"Kanina, tinamaan ni Cliff Hodge, so for sure tomorrow, mamamaga ito," he recalled one instance in Game 2 of the championship round where the pain aggravated.
That incident set up Tenorio's clutch performance.
Tenorio came out firing at the death, scoring half of his 14-point output within the last 2:44 of the game including a dagger triple that helped Ginebra score an 86-76 win over Meralco on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum for a 2-0 lead in the Finals.
[Related Story: Ginebra pulls late comeback to take 2-0 Finals edge over Meralco]
"That was a Hail Mary shot, kasi the whole game medyo off timing ako sa offense," he said about the clutch trey. "Nakuha sa dasal."
However, he added that the bone spur may have played a role as well in making that shot along with his scoring explosions earlier in the conference.
"Kaya ayokong ipa-opera kasi nakaka-shoot ako. Yun yung dilemma ko. Totoo yun. Hindi ba nagkaroon kami ng three-week break noong Gilas? Sinasabi sa akin, 'Bakit mo gagawin (elbow surgery) eh ang taas ng [shooting] percentage mo?' Sabi ko, 'Oo nga, ano,'" Tenorio added.
He has the Barangay's medical staff to commend for keeping him sharp despite the pain in his right arm.
"Yung mga therapists namin, inaalalayan at inaalagaan naman kami," concluded Tenorio, who is set to remove the spur during the off-season.
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