Lewis Alfred Vasquez Tenorio (born July 9, 1984) is a Filipino professional basketball player and an assistant coach for the

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The most popular team in the league, it is owned by Ginebra San Miguel, Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distiller ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

(PBA). He is also the head coach of the Gilas Youth. He was an assistant coach for the

Letran Knights The Letran Knights and Lady Knights are the collegiate varsity teams representing Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The high school varsity teams are called the ''Squires''. The college's varsity te ...

of the Philippines'

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Early life

Tenorio started playing basketball when he was 6 years old. No one really saw him play or his potential, but he tried his luck to join a basketball team when he was in grade three at Don Bosco Technical Institute of Makati. He, then in sixth grade, played a nationally televised exhibition game in front of a PBA audience. His team faced the Ateneo Grade School's Small Basketeers Team. Tenorio's team did not win, but he pretty much stole the show, scoring 31 points in only 21 minutes of play. After his elementary days were over, he first went to Adamson under coach Charlie Dy before eventually transferring to San Beda under legendary bench tactician Ato Badolato. LA became part of a Bedan squad that was rife with future collegiate stars –

Magnum Membrere Benedicto "Magnum" L. Membrere III (born July 20, 1982 in Pangasinan) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and executive who currently serves as assistant team manager for NLEX Road Warriors since 2023. He also formerly served as ...

, Arjun Cordero, Toti Almeda, and Jon Jon Tabique. He won a title in his junior year, but finished just third in his last year with the Red Cubs.

College and amateur career

Tenorio made an immediate impact as a rookie for the Blue Eagles of Ateneo de Manila University as he helped lead his team into the 2001 basketball finals of the

University Athletic Association of the Philippines The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is an athletic association of eight Metro Manila universities in the Philippines. The eight-member schools are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila Univ ...

(UAAP). He was practically unstoppable in game 3 of the best-of-3 finals series as he scored 30 points against their college rival

De La Salle Green Archers The De La Salle Green Archers and Lady Archers are the varsity teams representing De La Salle University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, among other leagues. The "Green Archer" is the traditional university mascot. Whi ...

. DLSU-Manila however would go on to win that series. The following year, in 2002, he would once again lead the Ateneo de Manila back to the UAAP finals. This time he and his team would not be denied as they exacted vengeance on DLSU-Manila to win the UAAP Men's Seniors basketball championship. He would make a third straight finals appearance in 2003 but he and his Blue Eagle team would yield their crown to the veteran Far Eastern University Tamaraws. He played a total of five seasons with Ateneo de Manila and also graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2006. He played under four college coaches:

Joe Lipa Jose "Joe" Lipa, Jr. is a Filipino basketball coach and executive who currently coaching the Terrafirma Dyip's 3x3 team in the PBA 3x3. Lipa formerly coached his alma mater, the University of the Philippines, in the University Athletic Ass ...

Joel Banal Joel Banal (born February 6, 1958) is a retired Filipino professional basketball player, and former head coach in the Philippine Basketball Association. He is the former commissioner of the now-defunct Pilipinas Commercial Basketball League (P ...

Sandy Arespacochaga Alexander "Sandy" Arespacochaga (born April 6, 1977) is a former collegiate basketball player who currently serves as an assistant coach of Ateneo Blue Eagles, and TNT Tropang 5G. Career Ateneo Arespacocahaga played for the Blue Eagles from ...

and

Norman Black Norman Augustus Black (born November 12, 1957) is the current Consultant to the San Beda University Red Lions Basketball team playing in the NCAA Philippines. He is a former professional basketball player who played in the CBA, NBA, and PBA. ...

. After completing his collegiate eligibility he then saw action in the quasi-commercial basketball league of the Philippines, the

Philippine Basketball League The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) was a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league was composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars. History The PBL was formed on M ...

(PBL) the last stepping stone towards achieving a professional basketball career. In his last PBL Conference he led his Harbour Centre Portmasters team to the 2006 PBL Unity Cup championship, a fitting end to his career as an amateur player.

PBA career

During the 2006 PBA draft, Tenorio was the fourth overall draft pick by the

San Miguel Beermen The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Magnolia ...

. He played an average of 25.5 minutes for Magnolia with a respectable average of 7.8 points, 4.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds in nine games. In a surprise move in March 2008, he and

Larry Fonacier Larry Alexander Nacua Fonacier (born May 13, 1982) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He previously served as the team manager for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted fourteent ...

were traded to the Alaska Aces for

Mike Cortez Mike Salonga Cortez (born November 10, 1980) is a Filipino-American professional basketball coach and former player. He is an assistant coach for the Blackwater Bossing of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played for eight franchis ...

and

Ken Bono Karl Kenneth Odani Bono (born June 19, 1984) is a Filipino basketball player who plays for the Mindoro Tamaraws of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He played collegiate basketball for the Adamson Soaring Falcons in the Unive ...

. The Aces have been happy with the trade as they got a pure point guard in Tenorio to make life easier for

Willie Miller William Ferguson Miller MBE (born 2 May 1955) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, who made a club record 560 league appearances for Aberdeen. Sir Alex Ferguson described Miller as "the best penalty box defender in th ...

who could now concentrate on his scoring. In the first four games of the

2009–10 PBA Philippine Cup The 2009–10 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup or known as the 2009–10 KFC PBA Philippine Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the first conference of the 2009–10 PBA season. The tournament started on October 11, 2009, an ...

, Tenorio did not disappoint Alaska's expectation. As a starting point guard Tenorio led the Alaska team to a scrambling victory over San Miguel Beer in their first game. In their next three games Tenorio was ever the reliable point guard who led his team to the top of the standings in the PBA. On August 31, 2012, Tenorio was traded to

in a six-player blockbuster deal. Tenorio was also famous because of his "Pambansang reverse" which is a reverse lay up made him famous in international basketball. On October 14, 2016, Tenorio was recognized during the PBA Leo Awards Night as he was named to the

PBA Mythical Second Team The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Mythical Team is an honor given annually to the best players in each of the five basketball positions: point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center. A Second Mythical Team was insti ...

. On October 19, 2016, Tenorio was named as the

2016 PBA Governors' Cup finals The 2016 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors' Cup finals was the best-of-7 championship series of the 2016 PBA Governors' Cup, and the conclusion of the conference's playoffs. The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Meralco Bolts co ...

Most Valuable Player after averaging 17.2 points, 4.7 assists and 3.8 rebounds against the Meralco Bolts. On June 12, 2022, Tenorio played in his 700th consecutive game, the most consecutive games played for a PBA player. On December 10, 2022, he made his 1,178th three points field goals made and tied James Yap for third most all time. On March 1, 2023, Tenorio's consecutive games played ended at 744 due to a groin injury.

Coaching career

While playing for Ginebra, Tenorio joined

Bonnie Tan Bonnie Tan (born September 9, 1972) is a Filipino basketball coach. He is the head coach for the NorthPort Batang Pier of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is also a Freemason of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines. He last coached ...

's coaching staff at the

starting in NCAA Season 95 (2019). Tenorio coached Letran for four years, then was a part of the coaching staff of the Philippine national team for the

2022 Asian Games The 2022 Asian Games (), officially the 19th Asian Games () and also known as Hangzhou 2022 ( zh, c=, s=杭州2022, labels=no), were a continental multi-sport event which was held from 23 September to 8 October 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The ...

under

Tim Cone Earl Timothy Cone (born December 14, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach who leads Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the Philippine men's national team. He is the most accomplished coa ...

. Tenorio was appointed by the

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas () or the SBP is the national sport association for basketball in the Philippines, formed from the merging of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) and Pilipinas Basketball (PB). It was formed ...

as the head coach of the Philippines men's youth teams in November 2024.

PBA career statistics

''As of the end of 2023–24 season''

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align=left ,

San Miguel San Miguel, Spanish for Saint Michael, may refer to: Places Argentina *San Miguel Partido *San Miguel, Buenos Aires * San Miguel, Catamarca * San Miguel, Corrientes * San Miguel, La Rioja *San Miguel Arcángel, a Volga German colony in Adolfo Al ...

, 62 , , 22.3 , , .363 , , .297 , , .824 , , 2.5 , , 3.1 , , 1.0 , , , , 8.2 , - , align=left rowspan=2, , align=left ,

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

, rowspan=2, 39 , , rowspan=2, 28.4 , , rowspan=2, .405 , , rowspan=2, .338 , , rowspan=2, .701 , , rowspan=2, 3.6 , , rowspan=2, 4.5 , , rowspan=2, 1.2 , , rowspan=2, .1 , , rowspan=2, 8.6 , - , align=left ,

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 47 , , 33.3 , , .712 , , .312 , , .785 , , 4.2 , , 4.7 , , 1.1 , , .0 , , 11.0 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 62 , , 35.3 , , .399 , , .337 , , .844 , , 4.6 , , 4.6 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 12.8 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 42 , , 35.5 , , .394 , , .378 , , .833 , , 4.8 , , 4.5 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 13.5 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 35 , , 36.1 , , .373 , , .246 , , .800 , , 5.4 , , 5.4 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 14.0 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 52 , , 36.0 , , .364 , , .297 , , .753 , , 5.0 , , 5.8 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 14.0 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 43 , , 32.8 , , .376 , , .275 , , .830 , , 4.3 , , 5.5 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 11.2 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 37 , , 29.2 , , .382 , , .333 , , .793 , , 4.3 , , 3.9 , , 1.5 , , , , 9.9 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 49 , , 33.7 , , .433 , , .387 , , .804 , , 4.1 , , 4.5 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 13.0 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 64 , , 34.3 , , .403 , , .370 , , .780 , , 3.5 , , 4.7 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , 14.2 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 57 , , 35.9 , , .372 , , .335 , , .837 , , 3.5 , , 4.6 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 12.5 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 52 , , 35.4 , , .387 , , .361 , , .863 , , 3.3 , , 4.6 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 11.8 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 22 , , 31.3 , , .423 , , .400 , , .750 , , 2.9 , , 4.6 , , .8 , , .1 , , 9.6 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 36 , , 37.8 , , .405 , , .338 , , .853 , , 3.3 , , 5.0 , , .5 , , .1 , , 12.7 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 45 , , 26.8 , , .338 , , .313 , , .739 , , 2.0 , , 3.6 , , .8 , , .0 , , 7.8 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 30 , , 14.2 , , .340 , , .391 , , .600 , , 1.7 , , 1.6 , , .4 , , , , 2.9 , -class=sortbottom , align="center" colspan="2" , Career , 774 , , 32.0 , , .397 , , .333 , , .800 , , 3.7 , , 4.5 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 11.3

National team career

Tenorio made his name on the final list of the Smart Gilas 2.0 roster. The first tournament of the Gilas were the prestigious

2012 William Jones Cup The 2012 William Jones Cup was the 34th tournament of the William Jones Cup that took place at the Taipei Physical Education College Gymnasium in Taipei, Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan) from August 18 to 26, 2012. As in previous tou ...

which was held from August 18–26 in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

. Gilas had an impressive 6–1 record, before battling out the USA Team for their last game. Tenorio led the team to beat the USA team 76–75, finishing with 20 points and grabbing the most important rebound of the game. Gilas won the tournament with a 7–1 record, and the 4th championship of the Philippines in the Jones Cup. Tenorio eventually became the tournament's Most Valuable Player after his last performance against the tough USA Team.

Personal life

Tenorio was married to Chesca Bugia, sister of his former Ateneo teammate

Paolo Bugia Ramon Paolo Vlajar Bugia (born January 19, 1981) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and executive who currently serves as the team manager for the Phoenix Fuel Masters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was draf ...

. On March 21, 2023, Tenorio announced that he was diagnosed with stage 3

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

. He was declared cancer-free in September 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tenorio, La 1984 births Living people 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup players Alaska Aces (PBA) players Asian Games competitors for the Philippines Ateneo Blue Eagles men's basketball players Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Basketball players at the 2014 Asian Games Basketball players from Batangas Competitors at the 2019 SEA Games Filipino men's basketball coaches Filipino men's basketball players Letran Knights basketball coaches Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippines men's national basketball team players Point guards San Beda University alumni San Miguel Beermen draft picks San Miguel Beermen players SEA Games gold medalists for the Philippines SEA Games medalists in basketball Barangay Ginebra San Miguel coaches 21st-century Filipino sportsmen