Jeron Teng. PBA IMAGES
Shooting blanks to start the game, Jeron Teng thought that he was in for a long night as Flying V played his old team AMA Online Education on Monday.
With the Titans defense swarming on him, the 23-year-old could only muster two points on a paltry 1-of-9 shooting in the first period.
But the former La Salle stud knew that he can do more than just score, heeding coach Eric Altamirano’s reminders that he has to focus on the other facets of his game.
READ: Teng posts triple-double as Flying V books top seed
“Prior to this game, me and coach Eric talked and he told me to add dimensions to my game, like on defense, rebounds, and also assists. That’s what I did,” he said.
From there, Teng’s 7-of-24 shooting was deemed an afterthought as he became only the fourth player in PBA D-League history to record a triple-double, racking up 21 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds in the Thunder’s 114-91 win.
He joined the elite club to achieve the feat, alongside BDO-NU’s Ray Parks, Phoenix’s Mike Tolomia twice, and Racal Motors’ Kent Salado, who also notched it this conference.
READ: Jeron Teng says D-League team Flying V has ‘high potential’
But more than the impressive statline, Teng said that his goal is to help the team succeed, as Flying V secured the top seed in the 2017 PBA D-League Foundation Cup eliminations after cruising to its eighth straight victory.
“We’re happy because we’re blessed, but we just made it to the semis and we can’t be contented. It’s a continuous learning experience for me and I just try to get better,” he said.
And Teng and the rest of the Thunder are taking these final two games as their chance to finetune their game in preparation for the bigger wars in the playoffs.
“Our goal in the last two games is to get better and use it as our preparation for the semis,” he said. “I hope we don’t get too overconfident especially that we haven’t proven anything yet. I hope the hunger will still be there.”