Titans rising

Jeron Teng took care of business for AMA Online Education Monday, before leaving for another tour of duty overseas.

The former La Salle star fell three assists short of a triple double as he powered the Titans to an 88-80 drubbing of Victoria Sports-MLQU, 88-80, for their fourth win in six games in the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

Playing with urgency, Teng collected 18 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists in his last game before joining Mighty Sports Philippines in an international tournament in Dubai next week.

Earlier, Robert Bolick and Byron Villarias provided the scoring punch in the second period as Cignal-San Beda crushed Batangas, 95-68, for its third straight victory.

Bolick and Villarias joined forces for 16 of the Hawkeyes’ 31 points in the second period, where Cignal pulled away, 56-34, on its way to joining Tanduay and Cafe France at second spot with identical 3-1 records.

Playing solid on both ends of the floor, Bolick tallied 19 points, five rebounds, and three assists, while Villarias shot 13 points on a 3-of-6 clip from beyond the arc.

The Hawkeyes also drew impressive outings from Jason Perkins who had 11 points and nine boards, and Alfred Batino with 10 points.

Although the Hawkeyes are looking every bit the contender they were billed to be at the start of the tournament, Cignal coach Boyet Fernandez said his team still has plenty of room for improvement.

“This is a team in progress,” said Fernandez. “We have to develop our teamwork because we only started a month ago and we will face stronger teams in the future.”