Lewis Alfred Vasquez Tenorio (born July 9, 1984) is a Filipino professional basketball player 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, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.), a subsidia ...

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 franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA). He is also an assistant coach for the

Letran Knights The Letran Knights are the collegiate varsity teams representing Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The collegiate women's varsity teams are called the ''Lady Knights'', while the high school varsity t ...

of the Philippines'

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

. He was nicknamed Showtime while he was on Alaska due to his speed, scoring and skills, and The Tinyente due to the initials of his name (L.T.). In Barangay Ginebra, he earned the nickname GINeral (combination of Ginebra's product, gin, and the word general) for his great skills as a point guard and his passing ability.

Early life and high school years

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 Makati. He, then in grade six, 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 in the Philippine Basketball Association who is former team manager for TNT Tropang Giga. He was drafted nineteenth overall ...

, 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 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 Univers ...

(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 University-Manila. 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, something he considers a far more important achievement than any of the basketball accolades he ever got. He played under four college coaches: Joe Lipa, Joel Banal, Sandy Arespacochaga and Norman Black. 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 Ma ...

(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

In the

2006 PBA draft The 2006 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft was an event in which teams drafted players from the amateur ranks. The draft was held at the Market! Market! in Taguig on August 20, 2006. The Sta. Lucia Realtors choose Kelly Willia ...

, 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 the Magnolia Hotshots and Barangay Ginebra ...

. 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 professional basketball player for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted fourteenth overall by the Red Bull Barako in the 2005 PBA ...

were traded to Alaska Aces for

Mike Cortez Mike Salonga Cortez (born November 10, 1980) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He last played for the Blackwater Elite of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Cortez gained prominence in the amateur ranks for ...

and

Ken Bono Karl Kenneth Odani Bono (born June 19, 1984) is a Filipino basketball player who last played for the TNT KaTropa of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played collegiate basketball for the Adamson Soaring Falcons in the University At ...

. 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 2009–2010 KFC-PBA Philippine Cup, 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 the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 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. On October 19, 2016, Tenorio was named as the 2016 PBA Governor's Cup Finals Most Valuable Player after averaging 17.2 points, 4.7 assists and 3.8 rebounds against the Meralco Bolts. On June 12, 2022, he 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.

PBA career statistics

''As of the end of 2021 season''

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align=left , San Miguel , 62 , , 22.3 , , .363 , , .297 , , .824 , , 2.5 , , 3.1 , , 1.0 , , .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'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

, 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 ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, - , 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 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, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.), a subsidia ...

, 52 , , 36.0 , , .364 , , .297 , , .753 , , 5.0 , , 5.8 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , 14.0 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 43 , , 32.8 , , .376 , , .275 , , .830 , , 4.3 , , 5.5 , , 1.3 , , .1 , , 11.2 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 37 , , 29.2 , , .382 , , .333 , , .793 , , 4.3 , , 3.9 , , 1.5 , , .0 , , 10.0 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 49 , , 33.7 , , .433 , , .387 , , .804 , , 4.1 , , 4.5 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 13.0 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 64 , , 34.3 , , .403 , , .370 , , .780 , , 3.5 , , 4.7 , , 1.3 , , .0 , , 14.2 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 57 , , 35.9 , , .372 , , .335 , , .837 , , 3.5 , , 4.6 , , 1.6 , , .1 , , 12.5 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 52 , , 35.4 , , .387 , , .361 , , .863 , , 3.3 , , 4.6 , , 1.2 , , .0 , , 11.8 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 22 , , 31.3 , , .423 , , .400 , , .750 , , 2.9 , , 4.6 , , .8 , , .1 , , 9.6 , - , align=left , , align=left ,

, 36 , , 37.8 , , .405 , , .338 , , .853 , , 3.3 , , 5.0 , , .5 , , .1 , , 12.7 , -class=sortbottom , align="center" colspan="2" , Career , 699 , , 33.1 , , .401 , , .333 , , .803 , , 3.9 , , 4.6 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 11.9

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 which was held from August 18–26 in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

. 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.

References

{{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 Southeast Asian Games Filipino men's basketball coaches Filipino men's basketball players 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 Southeast Asian Games gold medalists for the Philippines Southeast Asian Games medalists in basketball Letran Knights basketball coaches