By REYNALD MAGALLON
New PBA coach LA Tenorio is tempering expectations for the souped-up Magnolia even with what he deemed as smooth transition so far of the team.
Tenorio, who took over the coaching reins from former coach Chito Victolero during the offseason, said that he is aware of the frustration of the fans over the Hotshots shortcomings in the last few seasons as well as the expectations that comes from him being named as the new head coach.
But the former player-turned-coach, was quick to stress the need for more patience for the team as it undergoes the rebuilding phase under his watch.
“You really have to be patient and trust the process especially, me as a new coach to them, and the new system,“ said Tenorio.
To be fair, the Hotshots have been competitive in the past few seasons although they kept on falling short in the playoffs, even earning ‘Introvoys’ tag from the fans.
Tenorio, however, isn’t putting much pressure on his wards and even actually set a playoffs-berth as a modest goal for his first conference with the team.
“I want them to realize na we do not need to win everything. We don’t need to win every game. We just have to learn we just have to get better and let’s see what will happen,“ said Tenorio.
“Iyon lang we just have to be in the playoffs and see what will happen,“ he added.
And to better prepare his team and get his players more familiar to his system, Tenorio had the Hotshots in a closed-door training camp at the Inspire Gym in Laguna.
According to Tenorio, there was no doubt that the team has the tools not only to be competitive but actually contend for the top dogs.
“It is a good composition of vets and young players and the good thing about the team is they are hungry. They are hungry to get to that level again so medyo matagal tagal na silang hindi nakakatikim,“ said Tenorio
“I think kahit sinong coach ang mapapunta dito sa kanila yun yung feel nila yung hunger yung willinnes to go to the max level,“ he stressed.
