Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Four games in and Jeron Teng wouldn’t deny that he still has struggles adapting to coach Alex Compton’s system in Alaska.
“I’m still feeling my way. It takes time to be 100 percent familiarized with the system, but I’ll get there with the help of the coaches who are teaching me a lot of things, and my teammates who are helping me out,” he said.
Compton, however, begs to disagree as he sees the fifth overall pick in the 2017 PBA Rookie Draft thriving.
With the Aces struggling to find their rhythm in the first half, it was Teng, who triggered the pullaway in the third quarter, where Alaska turned a 39-34 halftime lead to a decisive 75-39 advantage at the end of the third frame.
“He’s just always had a knack for dominating,” said Compton of Teng after the Aces blew out the Kia Picanto, 102-65, on Sunday.
“He has Alvin (Teng)’s body so he doesn’t have a rookie body. You know how rookies come in and they have to learn how to bang with the big boys? It seems like Jeron’s whole career, even when he went to the next level, he was immediately still one of the big boys. His physicality, he’s inserted that and he helps us in rebounding and getting to the basket. He draws a lot of contact, and the kid’s got a knack for scoring and attacking the basket. We were very happy with the pick we had.”
Teng finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, and two assists in the game as he led Alaska to its second straight win in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup.
The former La Salle star, however, said that the triumph wasn’t just due to his effort alone as the whole Aces squad “picked things up in the second half.”
“We all knew we had to step up in the second half to get this win and we needed this win for our next games,” said Teng as he now braces for a showdown with Ginebra next Sunday.
“I think were ready for the challenge and we’re up to it. We’re practicing really hard and I think we’ll be ready by that game,” he said.