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Three games in and Jeron Teng is already feeling that he’s marked man.
Averaging a league-best 27.0 points per outing so far for AMA Online Education, the La Salle star found himself on a corner when Racal clamped down on defense on him on Tuesday.
Though Teng still had a team-high 23 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists, he shot a paltry 10-of-25 clip from the field in AMA’s 78-73 loss to Racal, the Titans’ first this 2017 PBA Aspirants’ Cup.
“For sure, other teams have scouting reports. Teams will try to stop me and put up a game plan against me, so I’m expecting those,” he said.
Undoubtedly the anchor of the Titans’ offense, Teng was rendered scoreless in the last four minutes of the game as Racal limited AMA to just five points from that point on.
Despite the loss, the 22-year-old swingman believes that the game proved that his team can keep up with some of the league’s elites.
“It just shows that we can compete in this tournament and it shows what our team is capable of doing. I felt we could have gotten the win, but it’s just the breaks of the game,” he said.
But if the Titans want to make a deep run, other players must step up to the plate, something which Teng has full confidence the rest of his teammates can do.
“I’m sure the other players are capable of stepping up. We’re composed of good players, but we have to work harder. We’ll keep on working harder to get to where we want to be,” he said.
AMA stakes its 2-1 slate against Tanduay on Thursday.