Passing the torch: The Robocop’s indomitable will is shared with Jeron Teng

Father and son comparisons never go away, especially in the realm of Philippine basketball, where “the chip off the old block” idiom stands the test of time. The torch is lighted and passed from one generation to the next. As one legacy comes to a close, another is waiting to be written. Part one of a three-part feature turns the spotlight on Alvin Teng and his son, Jeron. Robocop secures the shaded area Alvin “Robocop” Teng is regarded as one of the premier defenders in PBA lore. Lightning-quick guards would hesitate from driving to the basket, fearful of having the ball swatted back at their faces with him roaming inside. Opposing big men had to scramble, to the extent of wrestling the Robocop, just to box out for every rebound and every loose ball. In his heyday, Teng was a defensive nightmare and he had the track record to back it up. A proud product of Arellano University, Teng landed on a turbulent Magnolia squad in 1986, a team still reeling from the political landscape shakeups on a national level. The team consisted of Northern Consolidated Cement holdovers such as Samboy Lim, Hector Calma, Yves Dignadice, Franz Pumaren, Tonichi Yturri, and Pido Jarencio. With a loaded cast, Teng was relegated to the far end of the bench and had to earn his chops. He persevered, scrapping his way onto Coach Norman Black’s rotation. By 1988, people began to take notice of Teng as a tough-minded asset on defense.  He received Most Improved Player honors that season, a prelude of greater things to come. In 1989, Teng’s career finally took off. That year will be remembered for his significant contributions with the San Miguel Beermen in their prized Grand Slam, where he established his role as an enforcer next to the flashy Ricardo Brown. 1989 to 1994 marked Teng’s six-year peak in the PBA. While “The Defense Minster” Jerry Codiñera was hailed as the best defender in the league, Teng came in at a very close second. In his prime, Teng made opponents respect his presence in the paint. He was a member of the All-Defensive Team every year during that span, and was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year in 1993. During that six-year stretch spanning 373 games, Teng averaged 10.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks, doing all the yeoman’s work while shooting an efficient 54.6% from the field. On nights when he felt particularly hot, Teng could top 20 points or more, hitting his career high of 33 points on a couple of occasions. He even had some showmanship to boot, nabbing the 1993 All-Star Game MVP with some style points in addition to his substantial efforts. Most important of all, the Beermen racked a total of nine championships with Teng on board, the last one coming in the 1994 All-Filipino Conference. When the Beermen suddenly dealt Teng to Pepsi for Victor Pablo prior to the 1995 season, the successful partnership came to an abrupt halt. Teng went on to play in the PBA until 1998 before strutting his wares for the Laguna Lakers and the Negros Slashers in the now-defunct MBA. Meanwhile, basketball karma had a hand with the Beermen’s fate; San Miguel would not win another championship until 1999, the year after Teng finally closed the chapter of his life in the PBA. Diametrically opposed Jeron Teng has the unenviable task of not only stepping out of his father’s shadow, but also of his older brother Jeric’s looming status as well. What the younger Teng has in his favor is an early head start. He was part of the Xavier Stallions squad that won three consecutive Tiong Lian titles from 2009 to 2011. His 104-point performance against Grace Christian High School is now an the stuff of legend, told in numerous versions to varying degrees of hyperbole. Between Alvin and Jeron, the playing styles of these two players could not be any more different. The father, a hard-nosed worker who played rugged defense, cleaned up the boards for second chance points, and demanded to guard the opposing team’s best big man. The son, on the other hand, is a relentless scoring machine aching for the ball to crush his opponents, one possession at a time. A common link between father and son is their exposure to the international level of play. The senior suited up in the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games while the junior represented the Philippines in the 2009 FIBA Asia Under-16 Championship and the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. The stint puts perspective on the ceiling Jeron can achieve playing alongside contemporaries Kiefer Ravena and Bobby Ray Parks, also second-generation stars themselves. When the younger Teng announced his decision to study in De La Salle University and play for the Green Archers this season, it was a viewed as a sound basketball move. The team has been caught in the trenches, needing an aggressive, go-to-guy who could play up to par with the likes of Nico Salva and Alex Nuyles. Alvin once set high standards for himself back in his playing days. So did Jeron. He voiced that anything less than a Final Four appearance for La Salle in his rookie season would be deemed a failure. The pieces are already in place for a legitimate run. With LA Revilla craftily setting up plays, Norbert Torres vastly improving his post game, and Yutien Andrada aggressively intimidating opponents on defense, Teng was expected to seamlessly fit right in. Through his first six games in the UAAP, Teng’s firepower has come in bursts. He has averaged 13.7 points, best on the team, but also eye-popping is his 7.7 rebounds per outing, second-best behind the team’s starting center Torres, shades perhaps of his father’s nose for the ball. As a team, the verdict on the Green Archers, 3-3, as of writing, is far from certain. La Salle disposed of the Fighting Maroons and the Red Warriors, teams that are expected to struggle. But they were unable to eke out wins against the Tamaraws and the Growling Tigers, teams that they were projected to be at par with. The rookie wall will eventually smack Teng. One of the few knocks on his young career is his lack of physicality on defense. His unwillingness to mix it up allows his man to keep in step with his scoring. Teng’s offensive intensity will not have any shortcomings. It will be on the other end where he should watch some of his father’s game tape and assess how to stay in front of his man. That will entail improving his footwork and reading developing plays with increased alertness and responsiveness. The sport of basketball will always remain an offensive and defensive game. The father was able to thrive in the professional level for thirteen seasons because he incorporated a reliable offensive repertoire with instinctive defensive capabilities. If the son wants to elevate his game among the elite in the collegiate ranks, he will have to utilize his physical strength to become a two-way terror, as he aims to bring the Green Archers back to their glory days. - AMD, GMA News