Lewis Alfred Tenorio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lewis Alfred "LA" Tenorio is considered a pointguard playing for the San Miguel Beermen in the Philippine Basketball Association. His combination of speed, strength, athleticism, perimeter shooting, penetrating the lane, precision passing and relentless on-ball defense have made him a name as a complete player and a consistent winner.
Tenorio hails from the province of Batangas in the southern part of the main island of Luzon. Growing up in the country, Tenorio was already a sensational street league player with his amazing combination of speed, agility, and guile. His biggest asset however were his outsize hands that were disproportionately bigger for his size of about 170 centimetres and 60 kilograms.
Tenorio eventually found his way to the capital metropolis of Manila, matriculating to San Beda College to attend secondary school and learn the nuances of organized basketball. His high school coach was the legendary Ato Badolato, an old school type coach whose decades-old program in the San Beda high school has produced a galaxy of stars in Philippine basketball. Tenorio would become one of the most celebrated of his alums.
In college Tenorio would attend Ateneo de Manila University, the Jesuit-run institution known for its tough academic regime as well as its burgeoning college basketball program. Tenorio made an immediate impact as a rookie for the Blue Eagles of Ateneo as he helped lead his team into the 2001 basketball Finals of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP). Tenorio 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 University. La Salle however would go on to win that series.
The following year, in 2002, Tenorio would once again lead Ateneo back to the UAAP Finals. This time he and his team would not be denied as they exacted vengeance on De La Salle to win the UAAP college basketball championship.
Tenorio would make a third straight Finals appearance in 2003 but he and his Ateneo team would yield their crown to the veteran Far Eastern University Tamaraws.
Tenorio played a total of five seasons with Ateneo and also graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2006, something he considers a far more important achievement than any of the basketball accolades he ever got. He played under four college coaches: Jose Lipa, Joel Banal, Alexander Arespacochaga and the American Norman Black.
After completing his collegiate eligibility he then saw action in the quasi-commercial basketball league of the Philippines, the PBL (Philippine Basketball League) the last stepping stone towards achieving a professional basketball career. In his last PBL Conference he led his Harbor Centre team to the 2006 PBL Unity Cup championship, a fitting end to his career as an amateur player.
Tenorio is now showcasing his game in the Philippine Basketball Association or PBA with the San Miguel Beermen. He was a high draft pick in the 2006 Rookie Draft.
