Little big men draw raves

SEVILLE – The Philippines’ two smallest players stood tall at the FIBA World Cup and with Gilas’ early departure from the tournament after failing to qualify out of the group stage, fans will miss the exciting exploits of the diminutive pair.

Jimmy Alapag, 36, is listed 5-10 and L. A. Tenorio, 30, is 5-7. Gilas’ other cager who is less than six feet is 5-10 Jayson Castro but Asia’s No. 1 point guard played hurt most of the way and even sat out the Philippines’ farewell game against Senegal last Thursday.

Tenorio said he never imagined going up against NBA players Nick Calathes of Greece, Pablo Prigioni of Argentina and Jose Barea of Puerto Rico. But he held his own despite being outsized. Tenorio said Barea, the tournament’s leading scorer with a 22.0 point average at the end of the first round of eliminations, was the toughest of them all.

Tenorio and Castro were roommates at the Hotel Barcelo Renacimiento here. After the Philippines’ 85-81 loss to Argentina, Tenorio said Castro couldn’t sleep that night and was still awake at 4 a.m. Castro blamed himself for the loss as with less than 10 seconds left and Argentina up by only two, he was called for travelling to seal Gilas’ fate.

“It was a broken play, not Jayson’s fault,” said Tenorio. “Jimmy was supposed to get the inbound but was denied by (Facundo) Campazzo who was brought in by the Argentine coach for defense on the play. Jayson went for the win but was bothered by (Marcos) Mata. He jumped and dropped the ball then picked it up so he was called for travelling. I told him to forget it, that he’ll be a better player because of the experience. I think Ranidel (de Ocampo) went out walking with Jayson the next morning to keep his mind out of it.”

Tenorio said with what the Philippines showed in five games here, FIBA won’t forget Gilas if there’s an opportunity to bring in wildcards in future tournaments.

Tenorio explained the commotion after the Greece game last Sunday. “Out of respect, Greece shouldn’t have taken that last shot,” he said. “Coach Chot (Reyes) waved us off with seconds to go but Greece still took a three-point shot. We didn’t even play defense. We told the Greeks what we thought at the end of the game. That big guy (7-foot Giannis Bourousis) pushed Jimmy and (team manager) Aboy (Castro) who are much smaller than him. So Marcus (Douthit) pushed him back.”

PBA governor Alfrancis Chua of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel said he heard in an interview with Andray Blatche that Gilas’ naturalized player singled out Tenorio and Alapag as NBA-caliber. Chua said he totally agrees.

Tenorio’s wife Cheska said after the Argentina game, some Argentine fans approached the Ginebra guard. “They asked L. A. what league he plays in,” she said. “I don’t think they know about the PBA. They probably think players like L. A. don’t play in their country and get hired to play overseas.”

Tenorio said although some players got sparse minutes and even sat out a few games, nobody grumbled. “It didn’t matter who played, we were all focused as a team,” he said. “When it was time to practice, we all worked hard.”

Tenorio said Gilas came close to defeating Argentina but if Manu Ginobili and Carlos Delfino played, maybe it would’ve been a different story. “(Luis) Scola is a really smart player, no wasted motion, it’s like he’s playing lazy,” said Tenorio. “But we gave Argentina a scare. They never thought we would put up a fight. They were relieved to win it in the end.” Gilas coaching consultant Tab Baldwin called Argentina one of the smartest teams in the world.

Alapag sizzled for 18 points in Gilas’ 81-79 overtime win over Senegal and hit 15 in the loss to Argentina. Tenorio fired 18 in the 77-73 defeat to Puerto Rico. Alapag wound up averaging 9.2 points, 1.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 21.1 minutes. He knocked down 11-of-24 triples and 13-of-15 foul shots. Tenorio averaged 6.2 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 17.6 minutes. He buried 4-of-7 triples and 7-of-8 free throws.

Blatche was tied for third in tournament scoring with a 21.2 norm and ranked first in rebounding with a 13.8 clip. Gabe Norwood logged 31.8 minutes a game, second to Blatche’s 33.8 on the team. Norwood averaged 5.2 points and 3.0 rebounds. In terms of efficiency per minute, JuneMar Fajardo ranked in the tournament’s top five, averaging 6.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 12.8 minutes. He shot 54.5 percent from the floor and 81.8 percent from the line.