The cornerstone of the Barangay Ginebra returns, as 17-year Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) veteran L.A. Tenorio has been declared cancer-free. Current Gilas Pilipinas Interim Head Coach Tim Cone addressed the media regarding the recovery of his fellow star cager-turned-assistant coach for the Nationals, who received the green light to practice with his local club “within days.”
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“His last PET (positron emission tomography) scan he took today in Singapore, it’s cancer-free…He’s finished with all of his chemo sessions, he’s been declared cancer-free, and they told him that within days, he can start practicing. In three or four days, he can return to practice,” Cone mentioned to the media following a press conference at the PBA office last Tuesday, September 19, 2023.
Dubbed the league’s “Iron Man” through competing in 744 consecutive games since his debut, the 38-year-old future Hall-of-Famer was crucial to the Gin Kings’ successful 2022 Commissioner's Cup campaign, though incurred a decline in minutes due to persistent groin inconvenience. Tenorio revealed in March of 2023 that the pain resulted in Stage 3 colon cancer and that he had been committed to chemotherapy procedures before the news of his clearance surfaced.
Tinyete (lieutenant) has yet to make an official statement on his recovery.
