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It was Juami Tiongson’s turn to shine for AMA Online Education.
A few days after teammate Jeron Teng made a resounding debut, Tiongson seized his moment Tuesday with a 32-point outburst that propelled the Titans past Cignal-San Beda, 94-85, in the 2017 D-League Aspirants’ Cup at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Getting more minutes following the sudden departure of Diego Dario from the team to focus on his studies, Tiongson delivered with 12 of his output coming in the final period.
The former Ateneo playmaker finished with 10-of-16 shooting that went with six rebounds and three assists just five days after Teng exploded for 42 points in the Titans’ 102-95 win over Batangas last Thursday.
“I’m not surprised since Juami is really one of the anchors of the team,” said AMA coach Mark Herrera. “Diego (Dario) was a big loss to us and I told Juami he has to make the most out of the extra minutes.”
Board work
Teng finished with 16 points this time, but he did most of his work on the boards, hauling a team high 15 rebounds. The Titans, who improved to 2-0, also got a solid effort from former La Salle standout PJ Barua who added 13 points.
Jose Rizal University notched its first win at the expense of Blustar Detergent, 75-64, earlier.
Playing against a team that suffered a 51-point beatdown last Monday, the Heavy Bombers needed a strong finishing kick led by Tey Teodoro, who fired eight of his 20 points in the last quarter to finish off the Malaysian youth squad.
JRU also leaned on Jhaps Bautista, who tallied 18 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.