Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Jeron Teng wasn’t supposed to play, yet on Monday, it was still him who had to carry the biggest weight of the game for Flying V.
The La Salle standout took it upon himself to play through his sickness and showed his fortitude as he kept the thunder unbeaten in the 2017 PBA D-League Foundation Cup with a huge 83-78 victory over Marinerong Pilipino.
And for coach Eric Altamirano, he can’t say anything less on the fighting spirit of his star.
“I’m just really proud of Jeron on how he took it upon himself that even though he wasn’t feeling well, he forced himself to play because he knew how important this game is,” the soft-spoken Altamirano said.
Teng arrived on Saturday after his stint with Chooks-Pilipinas 3×3 in the 2017 Fiba 3×3 World Cup in Nantes, France and immediately joined the team’s practices for the next two days. He then, fulfilled other obligations through the course of the weekend before joining the Thunder anew for the game.
Battling flu on Monday, Teng was already ruled out by Altamirano for the game against the Skippers.
“He wasn’t feeling well. He didn’t have any time to rest since arriving. And when he came to the venue, he said he really can’t play,” said the mentor.
But after seeing his team down by as much as 18 points early, the 6-foot-2 swingman urged his coach to put him in.
“Come second quarter, he said, ‘Coach, give me some time to warm up. I’ll play. Let me play and help the team out.’ That fired up the team and gave us a boost,” recounted Altamirano, which he obliged, as Teng spurred an awe-inspiring run to get Flying V back in the game and eventually nab the win.
He finished the game with 15 points, six assists, and four rebounds off the bench, including eight of the Thunder’s last nine points, none bigger than his pull-up 15-foot jumper with 41.7 seconds to spare to ice the triumph.
Altamirano lauded the leadership qualities Teng has been showing for Flying V this conference, but laughed when asked if this performance was reminiscent to that of Michael Jordan’s in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals.
“It’s like the flu game?,” he asked jokingly.