Coach LA Tenorio wants to streamline Gilas Youth with Men’s, align with Tim Cone

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Never say change: Gilas Pilipinas Youth head coach LA Tenorio seeks to ingrain the defensive schemes used by Barangay Ginebra and Gilas Men mentor Tim Cone in the younger generation

PAMPANGA, Philippines – Passing his first tournament with excellence, Gilas Youth head coach LA Tenorio made sure that there were parallels with the men’s team, especially on the defensive end.

Flashes of Tim Cone’s defensive schemes were noticeable in the FIBA U16 Asia Cup SEABA Qualifiers, which helped the Philippines amass a winning average of 39.0 points in the six games played by Gilas Youth at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center here.

Tenorio, Cone’s longtime floor general with Barangay Ginebra in the PBA, said that the similarities were very much deliberate.

“That was the plan from the start. Not only for Ginebra but also for the Gilas Men’s,” Tenorio said after a 70-40 drubbing of Indonesia in the gold medal game.

“Whether we win or not, as long as we do the same system and we develop players, we’ll be okay.”

Flanking Tenorio on the bench are longtime Cone deputy Richard del Rosario, Ginebra assistant Patrick Partosa, as well as trainer Kirk Collier and longtime Gilas teammate Gabe Norwood — people who are familiar with the tried and tested Cone philosophy.

Even Ginebra’s support staff are assisting Tenorio, a commitment of making the players feel the same as their seniors.

As a point guard, he made sure to tell his boys to trust the process, go back to the fundamentals, and make it more of a thinking game, rather than act on juvenile tendencies.

The second phase is to hammer the same points over and over in practice and in the game, since they are still 16 years old or younger.

From hosting hundreds of individuals through a tryout, the selection process was long and brutal, as the final number was trimmed to 12 deserving players.

Naturally, choosing the 12 will not favor everybody, leading to unfounded speculation online that the players were chosen through a “palakasan” (patronage) system.

“Whatever people say, it’s their opinion. I mean, we see what we want in this team, (choose) the players who we think will fit the system,” explained Tenorio.

“If the system is successful or not, as long as we have it, and players follow it, we’ll be okay.” – Rappler.com