LA Tenorio on the fence over playing-coach role in the future

It was fitting that in the PBA’s historic golden season, one of its most influential players would reach a milestone reserved for the greats.

When Magnolia Hotshots head coach LA Tenorio suited up against the TNT Tropang 5G in the Philippine Cup quarterfinals after a slew of backcourt injuries, he became only the seventh playing-coach in the league’s rich history.

Magnolia eventually bowed down and exited the postseason, but it was still a mark of excellence not just for his player-coach feat, but for the success the Hotshots achieved during Tenorio’s first-ever head-coaching stint at the professional level.

Despite the incoming returns of Jerom Lastimosa and Paul Lee from injuries in the upcoming conferences, Tenorio isn’t entirely ruling out continuing to be an on-court tactician for Magnolia.

“We’ll see. Nag-playing coach lang ako kasi Jerom (Lastimosa) wasn’t sure kung makakabalik,” Tenorio said.

“We’ll see. Ako naman I want to join practices for them to see kung ano yung..siyempre mga bata yan. They want to do things on their own right away,” he added.

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TNT marches its way to the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals at the expense of playing coach LA Tenorio and Magnolia. | @jonasterradoINQ pic.twitter.com/uuubJiPHz2

— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) December 27, 2025

Adding on to a decently successful season, Tenorio stressed that the players are still getting used to the system he integrated since being appointed at the start of the season.

“And iniba ko talaga completely yung sistema nila for the past years na nasanay sila. So yung system nila, yung habits nila wasn’t there pa,” he said. “So medyo nahihirapan pa sila. Sometimes, nai-stuck pa sila, hindi nila alam kung ano ang gagawin.“So ‘yon ang kailangan naming planuhin at puliduhin this break.” 

Magnolia will also take solace in the development of stars Lastimosa and Zavier Lucero, as well as the rise of rookies Yukien Andrada and Chris Koon, as franchise pillars ahead of Tenorio’s future as head coach.

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