No substitute for experience, says elder Teng
As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher.
That, according to University of Santo Tomas skipper Jeric Teng, spelled the difference in the stretch as the Growling Tigers hung tough for a nerve-wracking 73-72 victory over the De La Salle Green Archers Wednesday night to move a win shy of clinching the UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball crown at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The 6-foot-2 Teng finished with 17 points, seven of them coming in the payoff canto where he served as the team’s stabilizer, backstopping the likes of forward Kevin Ferrer, who sizzled with 20 points, and Cameroon import Karim Abdul, who laced his 19-point, 12-rebound outing with a decisive block on La Salle guard LA Revilla’s potential game-winner.
For Teng, their conscious effort to put into good use the bitter lesson they learned at the hands of the dethroned five-time champion Ateneo Blue Eagles, who swept them in the finals last year, somehow served as a big key.
“Sa tingin ko, there is no substitute for experience,” he noted. “Naranasan namin sa Ateneo ‘yung (ipinakita nila ‘yung) experience nila tapos nag-collapse kami. I’m just thinking that we really need to win. We’ve been here before. Malaking bagay talaga ‘yung experience na ‘yun. At least, naramdaman na namin ‘yung feeling ng nasa finals.”
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More than snapping La Salle’s nine-game winning streak, UST also moved closer in becoming the first fourth-ranked team to go all the way since the league implemented the Final Four and best-of-three finals formats in 1994.
Their fast start, a quick 21-4 run, coupled with a steady windup could also attest the Tigers’ maturity as one cohesive unit, according to Teng. “Coming into this game, I think we were relaxed. Alam na namin ang gagawin kapag dikitan ang laban. Katulad ng sinasabi ni Coach (Pido Jarencio), kapag dikitan, dapat sa amin,” he said.
Jarencio, who is bidding to steer the Espana-based camp back to the Promised Land since his magical debut in 2006, lauded the game-long exploits of Ferrer and Abdul but its clear he’s very grateful with Teng’s resurgence after an up-and-down stint due to a spate of injuries.
More than the offensive skills, Teng also serves as his extension on the court, according to Jarencio.
“Si Jeric talaga ang nagho-hold sa team,” added the 49-year-old mentor. “Constant silang nag-uusap ng grupo. Kinakausap niya ‘yung mga players. ‘Ano ba ang gusto nating mangyari? Saan tayo papunta? Ano ba goal natin?’ Kailangan mayroon talagang tagapagsalita sa team, hindi lang ako. Sa loob, si Jeric ‘yun. Siya ang leader namin.”
“Kaya baka after this season, ako na magmano sa kanya,” added Jarencio, tongue-in-cheek. “Nung nawala siya, ang team namin nagkawendang-wendang. Tapos nakabalik siya pati ‘yung kumpyansa niya. Ngayon, gusto niya i-prove na leader at winner siya.”
Jeric Teng and Co. can help UST tie Far Eastern U as the league’s winningest school in the men’s cage division with 19 titles by repeating over his younger Jeron and La Salle on Saturday also at the Big Dome.
