Jeron Teng during Alaska’s pre-season game. Photo by PBA.ph
After struggling in his debut for Alaska in the preseason, Jeron Teng redeemed himself with a pair of solid performances and his head coach Alex compton wasn’t surprised at all.
Teng scored nine points and nearly led the Aces’ comeback in a loss to the Phoenix Fuel Masters on Tuesday before chalking up 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and dishing out four assists in a 110-97 victory over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Wednesday.
“I know he’s a good player. Here, he hasn’t surprised me,” Compton said of Teng, who struggled in his first game on Monday with only four points on 2-of-11 from the field.
The 23-year-old Teng was the fifth overall pick by the Aces in the 2017 PBA Rookie Draft after leading La Salle to a couple of UAAP titles in 2013 and 2016 where he was also named Finals MVP twice.
Teng has been playing major minutes for the Aces and Compton said he wants his highly-touted rookie to get all the exposure he can get before the season starts.
“It’s the preseason right so when do rookies get experience? Do I wait and not play him here then, get him a ton of minutes in the first game? He needs to get used to what we do and you learn through that process more especially because he’s younger we’re giving him heavier minutes and he has to figure things out.”
And that’s exactly how Teng has approached his first few games with the Aces.
“It’s the preseason so it’s an opportunity for me to get to know the system of coach Alex, get to know the plays,” said Teng. “We’re here to learn.”
“I expect it to be really tough. I still has a lot to learn and as a player I’m always for improvement.”