Gilas Pilipinas Youth will have a new general calling the shots, and he is none other than the Gineral himself.
Longtime Barangay Ginebra San Miguel guard and former national team mainstay LA Tenorio will be the new head coach of Gilas Pilipinas Youth, taking over from Josh Reyes. The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) announced Tinyente’s appointment to the program on Tuesday.
Tenorio taking the reins from Reyes, who took Gilas Youth to two World Cups, is part of the SBP’s larger long-term vision of aligning the group’s Grassroots, Youth, and Men’s programs. Tim Cone, Tenorio’s longtime coach, currently heads Gilas Pilipinas, who will be taking on New Zealand and Hong Kong in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifier.
“I already talked to coach Tim and I’ll be running a similar system so our Youth players can easily transition to the men’s team,” said Tenorio in a press release sent out by the SBP.
The Right Fit for Gilas Youth? Tenorio Is No Stranger to Coaching
The 40-year-old eight-time PBA champion seems like an obvious choice given his long history with the current Gilas Pilipinas mentor and the familiarity with the Cone system that comes with it. Cone, incidentally, is looking to establish continuity from the grassroots level to the youth program all the way to the men’s senior team. Tenorio also has close ties with Norman Black, who is currently in charge of Gilas’ grassroots program.
At least Tenorio won’t be starting from scratch when it comes to coaching. The newly minted Gilas Youth coach is essentially a playing assistant coach with Ginebra. He is also part of Cone’s coaching staff at Gilas and was twice an assistant coach for the Letran Knights in the NCAA.
In short, Tenorio has coaching experience already, and it should come in handy as he tries to guide the country’s best young talent and mold them into a competitive unit—with a keen eye out on developing them into potential players for Gilas Pilipinas in the future.
That is a tall order even for Tenorio, who acknowledged the gravity of the role he has inherited.
“There’s a lot of pressure in the role because I’ll have big shoes to fill,” said Tenorio in the same press release. “What coach Josh Reyes accomplished by making it to two World Cups is not an easy feat but I’m excited to work with our young players and help them reach their full potential.”
From the looks of it, though, Tenorio seems ready for the moment.
