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UAAP: Older Teng stars as Tigers trip struggling Archers in OT


UST's Jeric Teng (C) goes hard against DLSU's Norbert Torres (R), while Teng's younger brother Jeron trails on the play.  KC Cruz

The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers emerged on top in an ugly 63-58 overtime win against the De La Salle University Green Archers to begin their campaign in the UAAP Season 76 men's basketball tournament, Saturday, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

[Review the play-by-play of this game here]

In a game that neither team deserved to win, La Salle overcame a host of turnovers and misses to summon a 10-2 run in the fourth quarter. LA Revilla and Jason Perkins then took over down the stretch, as the rookie forward rifled in a long two from the top of the circle to tie the game with 11 seconds left, 51-51, to ensure overtime.

Karim Abdul and Jeric Teng however took over in the extra period for UST, combining for their side's first nine points to counter the heroics of Revilla and Almond Vosotros, as the Archers came as close as two points until charities by Teng gave the Tigers a 60-56 edge with 33 seconds left.

La Salle inbounded to Perkins, who drove past Abdul from the high post to make it a two-point game. La Salle then sent Aljon Mariano to the line, only for the forward, who struggled all game, to make both free throws, to bring it to 62-58 with 22 seconds left. Without any timeouts remaining, the Archers had to advance the ball full-court. But Clark Bautista forced Revilla to give up the ball at the halfcourt line, giving possession back to UST. Mariano was fouled anew and split to finalize the tally.

Jeric Teng led his team with 23 points, six rebounds and three steals. Karim Abdul tallied 17 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

"Palaban yung bata, gusto niya maglaro. In the end siya rin ang nagpa-panalo," said head coach Pido Jarencio, on Mariano's late game performance. He revealed that his forward suffered a bad sprain around 10 days ago and feared his foot might be fractured. Eventually, he was still cleared to play.

Jarencio was relieved to put this game away. "Siguro kasama na rin yung opening jitters eh. Masama laro nila, masama laro namin, but in the end panalo kami. Yun lang yon," he said.

He also complained about a ballpen cap from a La Salle staff member that fell on the court late in the fourth quarter. A referee called a stoppage to remove the object, which led to DLSU suing for time. "Bahala na si commissioner diyan para i-review," Jarencio said.

UAAP officials later deemed the timeout to be legal.

Opening day jitters were evident at the start of the game, as both teams launched hurried shots for the first three minutes. Both teams were prone to scoring in spurts, as an Almond Vosotros trey spurred La Salle to a 7-2 lead, which UST re-took after lay-up lines ran by Clark Bautista, Jeric Teng, 8-7. But neither side could seize control in a turnover-scarred quarter, until a late put-back by Jeron Teng nudged La Salle ahead, 12-10, after the first period.

More turnovers and poor execution threatened to turn the second into another forgettable quarter as the tally crawled, 14-14. Coming out of a UST timeout, Arnold Van Opstal briefly broke the deadlock with split charities, but Abdul began to assert himself on the block. Jeric Teng then turned yet another Archers turnover into a bucket, forcing La Salle to take a timeout of their own with under five minutes remaining.

But there was no relief in sight for La Salle as they continued to miss, even from point-blank range. Meanwhile Jeric Teng and Abdul continued to wax hot from the field. The pair then scored 12 among 14 unanswered markers for UST, 28-15, with a minute to play. It was only then that the Archers awoke, as twin drives by Jason Perkins and a buzzer-beating layup by Norbert Torres trimmed the lead to 28-20 at halftime.

The Tigers shot 13-of-33 (39.3 percent) from the field after two quarters, while La Salle was held to a miserable 7-of-34 (20.6 percent). From the line, the Archers were 5-of-12 (41.7 percent), while UST made both of their charity tries.


Norbert Torres (C) gets swallowed up by Karim Abudl and Paolo Pe's double-team. KC Cruz

La Salle looked like they would turn things around in the third as Vosotros and Jeron Teng scored at the rim. The older Teng countered with a driving and-one, and the tally stayed still for a while. Vosotros struggled from deep while UST was forced into difficult shots, 33-26.

The well was dry even as both teams reached the penalty situation with under four minutes to play. After trading misses from the stripe, the game was bereft of any significant scoring until Thomas Torres nailed a triple with two minutes and change to play. The make triggered a short exchange with the Archers coming out as slight winners, using a pair of baseline jumpers from Perkins to trail after three quarters, 40-34.

Early in fourth it seemed like the game would be played in bursts. Aljon Mariano, one of the team's top scorers last year, laid in his first field goal the start of the fourth quarter to embolden UST. The Tigers exploited the lane for a little 8-3 run to open a double-digit gap, 48-37.

Moments later the Archers returned the favor as Jeron Teng decided to put the team on his shoulders. The sophomore did damage inside and combined with another triple with Thomas Torres as La Salle went on a 10-2 run. In contrast, the Tigers had difficulty finding their comfort zone on offense and had to confront a 50-47 lead with under four minutes to play.

With two minutes to play, LA Revilla plunged into the lane to put the Tigers on their heels. But they set themselves back when Jeron Teng fouled out over the next three possessions, with the last one sending Paolo Pe for split charities, 51-49, with 50 seconds remaining.

Neither team could get a clean look until a Revilla-Perkins pick and pop led to a jumper for the latter with 11 seconds to play, prompting the Tigers to call a timeout. But Jeric Teng failed to close this one out as his 15-foot try didn't fall through the net.

The Tigers shot 23-of-65 (35.4 percent) for the game, while La Salle was 22-of-72 (30.6 percent). The Archers were a mere 5-of-26 (19.2 percent) from long distance but UST missed all their 13 trey attempts.

The Archers led in rebounding, 52-44, including 17-9 on the offensive glass.

Almond Vosotros top-scored for his team with 13 points and seven rebounds despite shooting 5-of-20, with 12 misses coming from beyond the arc. Jason Perkins tied him with 13 points and nine rebounds. Jeron Teng finished with 10 points. - RAF/AMD, GMA News
 

The scores:

UST 63 - Teng 23, Abdul 17, Bautista 6, Mariano 5, Ferrer 5, Pe 3, Hainga 2, Daquioag 2, Lo 0

DLSU 58 - Vosotros 13, Perkins 13, Teng 10, T. Torres 7, N. Torres 6, Reyes 4, Revilla 4, Van Opstal 1, Tampus 0 , Bolick 0

Quarter scoring: 10-12, 28-20, 40-34, 51-51, 63-58
 
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