MANILA, Philippines – LA Tenorio said he was hit first by Terrence Jones before he retaliated in Barangay Ginebra’s 96-104 loss to TNT in the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Wednesday, June 12.

The Gin Kings guard was caught on camera hitting the KaTropa import in the stomach midway through the 3rd quarter until Jones responded by grabbing Tenorio in the shoulders that earned him a flagrant foul penalty 1. 

“I’m going to admit ‘yung ginawa ko pero sana tignan muna nila kung anong ginawa kasi hindi ko naman gagawin ‘yun kung hindi niya ginawa sa akin eh,” said Tenorio, urging the PBA to review the game tapes. 

(I’m going to admit that I did it but the PBA should look at what he did because I’m not going to do what I did if he did not do it to me first.) 

“Ang ganda ganda ng laro eh. Nagulat lang ako kasi one time, parang ewan ko, parang pababa ako sa transition biglang sinikmuraan din niya ako eh. I don’t know if you see that. It was during the 3rd quarter.”

(It was a good game. I was surprised that one time, when I was running during transition, he hit me in the stomach also. I don’t know if you see that. It was during the 3rd quarter.) 

“I was like, ‘Bakit ginanoon niya?’ And I told some of his teammates kung anong ginawa niya sa akin. So ‘yun, kung anong ma-review ng PBA, I’m willing to parang say my piece also.”

(I was like, ‘Why did he do that?’ And I told some of his teammates what he did to me. So whatever the PBA reviews, I’m willing to say my piece also.) 

“Kung ano man ang nakita nila, okay. Pero tignan rin nila ‘yung kabila. ‘Di ko naman gagawin ‘yun eh. Ganda ganda ng nilalaro namin eh. Ganda ganda ng nilalaro ng lahat eh, ‘di ba?” 

(Whatever they see, okay. But they should also see what happened before. I wouldn’t do it if he didn’t do it. It was a good game and everybody was playing well, right?) 

Replays revealed Tenorio fell to the floor in pain when he collided with Jones at the 8:22 mark of the 3rd quarter. No foul was called. 

Tenorio felt the hit might have stemmed from frustration as Jones, who has already put up 3 40-point games, was limited to just 4 points at that time. 

“Nafa-frustrate siya kasi he’s not getting his usual game. Nagulat lang ako ginawa niya. Then nagalit siya sa akin noong ginawa ko sa kaniya ‘yun. So ganoon lang ‘yun ‘di ba?” said Tenorio, who had 18 points and 7 assists.

(He was frustrated because he’s not getting his usual game. I was just suprised with what he did. Then he got mad at me for what I did to him. That’s just how it is, right?)

“I’m willing to take full responsibility pero sana tignan din nila kung ano ‘yung ginawa niya sa akin bago ko gawin ‘yun. ‘Di ko naman gagawin nang basta basta ‘yun eh.”

(I’m willing to take full responsibility but I hope they look at what he did to me before I did what I did to him. I wouldn’t do that for no reason.)

“Kaya kong gawin noong 1st quarter, 2nd quarter, pero ‘di ko naman ginagawa kasi naglalaro lang naman ako eh. I’m focused on winning the game. ‘Yun lang naman ang focus ko tapos gagawin niya ‘yun.”

(I could have done that in the 1st and 2nd quarters, but I didn’t because I was just playing. I’m focused on winning the game. That was my only focus and then he’s going to do that.) 

Jones said he just “wanted to be aggressive” following the unsportmanslike foul. 

“I felt, you know, he kind of punched me in the stomach beforehand and they didn’t call it, so I just wanted to, you know, let my guys know that, you know, they’re not going to try to do anything dirty,” Jone said. 

After sitting on the bench for 3 minutes, Jones returned with aplomb as helped TNT complete the come-from-behind win and finished with a triple-double of 17 points, 16 assists, 14 rebounds, and 6 blocks. 

“We’re just going to continue on winning, I mean. We kept playing and we didn’t bother none of us and we were just, you know, worried about getting this win.” – Rappler.com