Jeric Teng. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — After settling for a fourth-place finish in the Filoil tournament, University of Santo Tomas’ skipper Jeric Teng admitted that the Growling Tigers are still far from where they want to be come UAAP.
Teng said that after losing to San Beda the team used the preseason to make the necessary adjustments to incorporate a new system they’re currently working on.
“In the Filoil, we were more of adjustments and Coach was still trying out different combination of players and our new system,” said Teng.
“We’re still 60-70 percent, more like 60 percent,” added the six-foot-two Teng. “Late na din kasi natapos yung D-League, so yung mga Blackwater boys late na nakasama sa practice namin. Ngayon lang talaga kami nakapag-practice ng sabay-sabay na tuloy-tuloy.”
Several of Teng’s teammates played for Blackwater, which dethroned NLEX for the PBA D-League Foundation Cup title, including forward Kevin Ferrer, who’s up for a breakout year this season.
Teng, who is in his final playing year, added that the Tigers still need to improve on their decision-making and that they still lack the mental toughness to finish close games.
Teng sees University of the East, which beat National University for the Filoil plum, and De La Salle, which underwent an unexpected coaching change with Juno Sauler replacing Gee Banilla just recently, as the teams to beat this year.