Tiongson, Arambulo step up in Teng’s absence

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AMA Online Education sorely missed the presence of star guard Jeron Teng when it almost fell into the hands of winless Blustar Detergent on Tuesday.

“His scoring was really missed,” said coach Mark Herrera.

Teng is a huge part of the Titans’ offensive attack, leading the league with 26.0 points, to go with his 8.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists.

READ: AMA pulls rug from under Blustar for 3rd straight win

Without Teng, who is with Mighty Sports in Dubai for the week, AMA needed players like Juami Tiongson and Ryan Arambulo to take a bigger load in the offensive end.

They got additional burden with the early ejection of Gino Jumao-as midway through the first quarter after being slapped with a flagrant foul penalty two.

Luckily, the two stepped up to the plate in the Titans’ close 83-78 victory over the Dragons to sustain their three-game winning streak in the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup.

READ: Titans’ Teng favorite to win PBA D-League MVP

Tiongson fired 23 points, alongside seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals, while Arambulo registered 20 markers and six boards in the win.

Though Teng will be returning to AMA later this week, Herrera said that the game against lowly Blustar should serve as a lesson to the Titans that no matter who the opponent is, they should never feel complacent.

READ: Jumao-as gives Teng, AMA a much-needed lift

“We shouldn’t underestimate our opponents. We can’t think that we can beat our opponents easily and relax. We can’t give them confidence because they’re also players who can play. I’m just hopeful that we recovered in time,” he said.

The Titans return to action on Monday against Wangs Basketball.