UAAP: Jeron Teng hits game-winner, lifts DLSU over UST

(Updated 2:39pm) The sibling rivalry now stands at 1-1. Jeron Teng hit a game-winning shot to lift his De La Salle University Green Archers over his older brother Jeric's University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, 53-51, Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, in the 75th season of the UAAP. “We’re just very lucky to have survived this win,” said Archers head coach Gee Abanilla. “The defense of UST was focused on Jeron [Teng] and a lot of our guys were open.” UST dropped to 7-3 in the standings, with two of their losses coming in the second round. DLSU on the other hand improved to 6-3, forging a four-game win streak over the two rounds. La Salle capitalized on second-chance points to give Arnold Van Opstal and Thomas Torres opportunities to score from the foul line. But the Tigers fought back, setting up Abdul, who tallied four of UST's last six points, to tie the game at 51-all with three ticks left on the clock. Off a timeout, DLSU inbounded the ball to Teng, who drove left and pulled up for a jumper well before time expired to put down the Tigers for good. “The situation fits Jeron and they could not afford to foul us,” said Abanilla. “We wanted to take advantage of his driving skills and for him to create a shot for himself, and he did.” The first time the brothers Jeric and Jeron played, Jeron also out-scored his older brother, but it was UST that escaped with an 84-82 win in double overtime, last August 4. The two are sons of PBA legend Alvin "Robocop" Teng. Almond Vosotros led La Salle with 12 points, all exclusively off three-pointers. Thomas Torres added 10 points and six rebounds, while Jeron Teng finished the game with nine points and seven boards. The Archers started the game aggressively and scored quick points off lay-ups and free throws. UST kept in stride with a trey from Jeric Fortuna and a put-back by Louie Vigil, but La Salle was up early, 8-5. UST found their rhythm halfway through the first, and transition attacks keyed in an 8-0 run, highlighted by two long jumpers by Melo Afuang. Norbert Torres made two from the line with under a minute to go, but a Jeric Fortuna shot beat the clock, allowing UST to post a 15-10 lead after the first period. Kevin Ferrer broke away for a fast break lay-up early in the period, but the onset of the second quarter saw better defense for both teams. DLSU found their range as Jeron Teng and Almond Vosotros converted from the perimeter, but Melo Afuang tallied his fifth and sixth points to arm the Tigers with a four-point advantage, 19-15, 5:27 left in the first half. After a slight lull, both teams traded baskets in a furious final minute. La Salle got a bucket by Norbert Torres and a trey from Teng, but a long two from Abdul and four from Aljon Mariano kept the Tigers in the driver’s seat, 27-22. La Salle struck quickly after the break, as an inbounds lay-up and a long jumper by Jed Manguera cut the deficit to one. UST recovered as Mariano sank a three-ball from the top of the circle, only to be answered by Vosotros’ own from beyond the arc. Finding his range, Thomas Torres added another triple, as DLSU trailed by a point, 33-32 at the 4:47 mark of the third. UST went to Jeric Teng, who scored UST’s next four off mismatches on smaller defenders, as he bracketed a pair of free throws by Thomas Torres. But the Tigers would not score again in the next three minutes of game time. In that span, La Salle mounted a 10-0 run straddling the third and fourth periods, backboned by two from downtown by Vosotros, to take a 44-37 at the 8:17 mark. However, UST quietly crept back, blanking the Archers over the next five minutes while scoring six unanswered. Thomas Torres ended La Salle’s drought with a corner three-ball, but Abdul drove to the rim for two on the other end. The Cameroonian center scored six in that 8-3 swing to cut the Tigers' deficit to two, 47-45, with three minutes to play, in the lead-up to the frantic final minutes. “We’re still within striking distance, and right now we have some separation from NU,” said Abanilla. “But a lot of things can still happen before the end of the second round.” Abanilla also had a lot of praise for the character of his players, especially Vosotros and Thomas Torres, for “showing a lot of heart in the game.” DLSU was without starters LA Revilla and Yutien Andrada, who were resting minor injuries. Coach Abanilla was hopeful though that the duo would be able to contribute in their next game. La Salle shot worse from the field (16 of 57, or 28 percent, against 23 of 58, or 40 percent) but was the more aggressive team and held a huge 44-32 advantage on the boards. They also got 17 free throw attempts against UST’s six. The Tigers were limited to an uncharacteristic two makes from beyond the arc. Karim Abdul scored 14 points and six rebounds, while Aljon Mariano, before fouling out, and Melo Afuang both notched nine points and four boards. - AMD/OMG, GMA News The scores: DLSU 53: Vosotros 12, T Torres 10, Teng 9, N Torres 8, Van Opstal 7, Mendoza 5, Manguera 2, Paredes 0, Gotladera 0, Tallo 0, Webb 0, Tampus 0 UST 51: Abdul 14, Mariano 9, Afuang 9, Fortuna 7, Teng 6, Vigil 2, Ferrer 2, Bautista 2, Pe 0, Lo 0, Daquioag 0 Quarter scoring: 10-15, 27-22, 39-37, 53-51