By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
A new era has begun for the Gilas Pilipinas Youth national basketball team after the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) tapped the services of PBA living legend LA Tenorio as the squad’s new head coach.
Tenorio’s appointment became official on November 19, 2024, when the SBP formally introduced the current Barangay Ginebra floor general as the new mentor of the young and aspiring Gilas boys.
“The SBP is excited to have a true sportsman and role model in LA Tenorio as our Gilas Pilipinas Youth head coach,” said SBP President Al Panlilio.
Despite juggling his duties as a player and a coach, the PBA multi-champion already boasts mentoring experience after assisting Tim Cone during Gilas Pilipinas’ gold medal campaign at the 2023 Asian Games.
During that massive run, the tandem of Tenorio and Cone helped Gilas end a 61-year gold medal drought in the Asian Games, beating Jordan in the grand finals matchup, 70-60.
Aside from his national team duties, Tenorio also served as an assistant coach to Bonnie Tan at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran for four years in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
“Appointing Coach LA as head of our age group teams in the youth level strengthens that process. The goal is to complete the player journey from our grassroots to the elite level, and having a Youth coach who knows the system of coach Tim by heart will be beneficial for everyone involved,” said SBP Executive Director Erika Dy.
Tenorio will be replacing Josh Reyes, coach Chot’s son, who led the Gilas Youth to a FIBA World Cup juniors appearance several months ago.
However, Gilas failed to pick up a single win and lost by an average of double digits during their entire tournament run.
“There’s a lot of pressure in the role because I’ll have big shoes to fill. What coach Josh Reyes accomplished by making it to two World Cups is not an easy feat but I’m excited to work with our young players and help them reach their full potential,” said Tenorio.
