Bulldogs spoil Teng's return, streak to fourth straight win
It was supposed to be a much-awaited comeback party for University of Santo Tomas gunner Jeric Teng, but National University’s Robin Rono had other plans.
The Bulldogs flirted with disaster but the 5-foot-8 veteran guard came up big in the stretch and powered them to a 75-61 win against the stubborn Growling Tigers to keep their grip on second spot in UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball action at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
More known as a defensive stopper, the 5-foot-8 Rono proved he can also deliver offensively, draining four of his five big triples in the payoff period to finish with a game-high 19 points on top of four rebounds and two steals as NU racked up its fourth straight win and seventh overall in ten outings, moving half-a-game adrift of pace-setting Far Eastern U.
Four other players–Dennice Villamor, Ray Parks, Gelo Alolino and forward Glenn Khobuntin–tallied at least nine markers for the Bulldogs, who also made it two in a row against the banged-up Growling Tigers following a 71-67 decision in their initial meeting last July 10.
Karim Abdul had another double-double outing of 18 points and 12 rebounds but UST still suffered its third consecutive setback and fifth overall against four wins.
Compounding the Tigers’ woes was the abrupt loss of the 6-foot-2 Teng, who finally saw action after missing the last five games due to a right shoulder injury, only to suffer cramps in his right leg in the second period.
Teng played for 10 minutes in the first half and scored just two points. He briefly went to the locker room for treatment and watched the remainder of the game from the bench.
The Main Man: Left wide open from beyond the arc, Robin Rono made UST pay a stiff price.
Now on his fifth and final year, the 5-foot-8 guard came through with his finest performance in the league, spiked by five big triples including four in the fourth where NU nearly blew what once a 14-point lead before a big 15-4 windup.
Honorable Mentions: More than his 18 points, sweet-shooting Dennice Villamor also showed he can also crash the boards (nine) and feed his teammates (four).
Not to be outdone was fourth-year forward Glenn Khobuntin, who pumped in five of his nine points in the fourth while putting the clamps down on counterpart Aljon Mariao, limiting the UST ace power forward to just nine markers on 4-of-11 shooting from the field.
Game Turning Point: Falling behind by as many as 42-56 in the third, the Growling Tigers clawed their way back and pulled within three off an Aljon Mariano floater going to the last five minutes of play.
But Rono drained a triple–his second in the fourth–then Khobuntin made an easy lay-in that ignited NU’s decisive jarring 15-4 closeout.
They Said It:
National University coach Eric Altamirano: “It was a collective effort. One of the keys in this game was our bench. The bench (players) stepped up and it was led by Robin Rono. He’s actually one of our stoppers but in this game he provided us the three-point shooting. I really like what happened in that meeting. They are not putting blames on anybody. It’s more of reminding each other the identity of the team and the roles of each player. I think from then on, more united and closer with each other and open to suggestion and constructive criticisms. It really paid off for us. Lalong naging close ang team and much determined sila this second round.”
National University guard Robin Rono: “Nag-stick kami sa gameplan. I’m just always ready when it comes to our offense. But my (main) task is to play defense.”
NU (75) - Rono 19, Villamor 18, Parks 10, Alolino 10, Khobuntin 9, Mbe 4, Javillonar 3, Perez 2, Rosario 0, Porter 0, Neypes 0, Labing-isa 0, Javelona 0, Alejandro 0.
UST (61) - Abdul 18, Ferrer 11, Mariano 9, Daquioag 9, Lo 5, Bautista 5, Teng 2, Sheriff 2, Tan 0, Pe 0, Lao 0.
Quarterscores: 17-14, 36-33, 56-44, 75-61
