PBA: Chot Reyes encourages LA Tenorio to embrace growing pains of coaching

Even the most accomplished PBA coaches had to start somewhere and Chot Reyes knows that all too well.

The 62-year-old seasoned shotcaller believes there are no shortcuts to mastering the craft, offering words of wisdom to LA Tenorio following the latter's challenging rookie season at the helm of Magnolia.

This comes after Reyes' TNT handed the Hotshots their seventh consecutive quarterfinals exit, adding to the challenges Tenorio faced in his maiden season as a tactician.

"Been there, been that I've been in that position a lot of times and that's just part of the growth process of LA," Reyes said.

"We call that paying tuition fee and every coach goes through that. Me, coach Tim (Cone), coach Yeng (Guiao), coach Leo (Austria), we've all been through that process so that's part of his development."

Tenorio, who once served as the backcourt leader of Barangay Ginebra, was appointed Magnolia head coach in June 2025.

In his first conference at the helm, Tenorio steered the Hotshots to the Season 50 Philippine Cup quarterfinals, where they bowed out to twice-to-beat advantage TNT.

Magnolia gradually showed progress under Tenorio, finishing fifth in the Commissioner's Cup standings. The Hotshots then pushed fourth-seeded Meralco to a do-or-die Game 2 in the quarterfinals but eventually ran out of steam, suffering another early playoff exit.

Tenorio's Magnolia project appeared to be heading in the right direction after the Hotshots topped Group B with an impressive 7-3 card in the Governors' Cup. Yet TNT once again stood in their way, sending Magnolia packing for the third time in their last four playoff matchups.

But Reyes remains confident that the outcome could be different the next time TNT and Magnolia cross paths in the playoffs.

"Right now, we came out on top but you know, in the future, I don't think it's going to be the same because he's going to continue to develop his coaching skills," Reyes added.

"Like I've said already in the past, he's a very good coach and it just so happened that this time, we were able to impose our game over theirs. That's just basketball."

—JMB, GMA News