Teodoro rises to Meneses challenge after disappointing opener

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Jose Rizal University coach Vergel Meneses was frank with his players following what he felt was a lackluster effort in their humiliating 96-75 loss to Lyceum on Tuesday.

The PBA legend chided the Heavy Bombers after they fired blanks and seemingly played out of sync against the Pirates, a complete 180-turn from their meeting in the pre-season.

“There’s no heart and there’s no pride. Credit should also go to Lyceum because they played hard. But it’s not the JRU I’m expecting for this season,” said Meneses.

READ: NCAA: Teodoro heats up as JRU nabs first win

But on Friday, Tey Teodoro proved his coach wrong, leading JRU to a huge 68-54 bounce back win over Perpetual.

The senior sharp-shooter showed that he heard Meneses’ message loud and clear, posting a season-high 26 points, on a 6-of-13 shooting from three, to go with seven rebounds and three assists.

“I just doubled my effort,” he said, understanding where Meneses’ frustrations are coming from.

“The veterans were disappointing in our first game. We didn’t play like we were veterans, so today, from the first quarter, I made it a point to be aggressive.”

Though Meneses was elated that Teodoro stepped up to his challenge, the mentor told his ace sniper that it would take more from him to help JRU contend this year.

And that means for the 23-year-old to share the ball to his fellow Heavy Bombers as Meneses expects Teodoro to hike up his assists average from his 1.4 dimes last season.

“Before, he doesn’t have any assists, but today, he got three. I told him that every time he involves his teammates, they also gain confidence. That’s what I’m seeing from him right now. He’s one of our veterans and he knows how to play the game,” he said.