At A Glance
- A major coaching shuffle is set to happen at Magnolia's camp with Barangay Ginebra's LA Tenorio emerging as the top choice to take the top post from current mentor Chito Victolero.
L.A. Tenorio (PBA Images)
A major coaching shuffle is set to happen at Magnolia's camp with Barangay Ginebra's LA Tenorio emerging as the top choice to take the top post from current mentor Chito Victolero.
A source said that another Kings deputy coach Richard del Rosario was also in the equation although the management is keen on naming Tenorio as its new head coach.
Regardless of which, the coaching change is set to mark the end of the nine-year coaching reign of Victolero, who is largely criticized by fans for repeatedly falling short of a title despite having a potent Magnolia lineup.
Aside from the head coach change, assistant coach Jason Webb is also set to be elevated to a higher role as the team governor in lieu of the team's current representative in the PBA board Rene Pardo, the source added.
Should things push through, it only meant that Tenorio had played his final game as a player when the Kings got eliminated by the eventual champions San Miguel Beermen in the Game 7 of the Philippine Cup semifinals.
Tenorio, however, was best remembered for his Game 6 heroics in that series, draining a clutch triple in the waning seconds to send the affair to a rubber match.
The 41-year-old great isn't entirely stranger to coaching having been a playing assistant coach for Ginebra and was once a deputy coach at Letran. He is currently the head tactician of the Gilas Pilipinas Youth team which he steered to a gold medal finish and a sweep of the FIBA U18 SEABA qualifiers last May.