LA Tenorio ruled out for rest of PBA Govs' Cup says Tim Cone

LA Tenorio is undergoing surgery on his groin, which could keep him out of the rest of the PBA Governors' Cup. Dennis Jerome Acosta

By Ivan Saldajeno

QUEZON CITY—Baring a surprise return especially if Ginebra makes it way far in the PBA Governors' Cup, coach Tim Cone has ruled star point guard LA Tenorio out for the rest of the conference.

According to the league's winningest mentor, Tenorio will be going under the knife to relieve the pain from a lingering sports hernia, which he apparently suffered during the Commissioner's Cup Finals.

"We heard from the trainers that it's approximately four to six weeks, so he'd probably be out for the rest of the conference. He's going to undergo surgery," Cone bared the timeline of Tenorio's recovery period moments after the Gin Kings battled the Meralco Bolts on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum here, the first game the 38-year-old Tenorio has ever missed in his PBA career.

Prior to Wednesday night, Tenorio never missed one of the 744 games he is supposed to play at, setting the current PBA "Iron Man" record.

However, his playmaking prowess was dearly missed especially when Ginebra struggled to keep up with Meralco in the first half.

"That was devastating, but all things come to an end," Cone added. "It's the end of an era."

Good thing, Christian Standhardinger, Justin Brownlee, and Jeremiah Gray stepped up big time for the team in the second half to steal the win for the Gin Kings.

"We're offering this game to LA," Cone further said.

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