Teng explodes for 32 as La Salle gets payback vs Ateneo

MANILA, Philippines – Jeron Teng provided the scoring spark for La Salle as the defending champions survived a thrilling battle with archrival Ateneo, 88-86, to post their sixth straight win in the 77th UAAP men's basketball tourney at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.

Teng erupted for 32 points while Jason Perkins, Julian Sargent and Robert Bolick chipped in 18, 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Taft-based squad.

Teng recounted how he responded to Ateneo’s defense on him.

"In the first half I just took advantage of the openings that I saw but in the second half, they adjusted their defense so I tried to look for my teammates," said Teng, who had five assists and shot an efficient 17-of-20 from the charity stripe.

"I really worked on my free throws after every practice because I know I will shoot a lot in the games so continuously, I just worked on it," he added.

The Archers improved their record to 6-2 (win-loss) to force a three-way tie for No. 1 with Ateneo and FEU.

"It was a very well fought game between the two sides, which was expected from us," La Salle coach Juno Sauler said in the post-game press conference.

Trailing for most of the game, Ateneo charged in the payoff period and even grabbed the lead, 75-73, after Gwynn Capacio's triple at the 5:43 mark.

La Salle countered with a quick 5-0 zip capped by Prince Rivero's lay-up to give the Archers a 78-75 upperhand with 3:33 remaining.

Kiefer Ravena stopped the bleeding for Ateneo and drilled two free throws to trim the deficit, but Sargent – who was the tasked to cover Ravena for most of the game – answered with a booming triple to give the Archers an 81-77 cushion.

Ravena, who had bailed out Ateneo in their first round outings, was poised to deliver again after sinking a high-looping runner while Fonso Gotladera scored on a nifty basket inside to tie the game 81-81 with 1:24 left.

Teng split his free throws and Perkins came up big with a jumper in the next possession as the shot clock was winding down to give La Salle an 84-81 advantage with 31 ticks left.

Perkins split his charities and Chris Newsome scored on a quick lay-up to keep Ateneo within striking distance, 83-85, with 12.3 seconds remaining.

Teng then coolly drained two clutch free throws while Newsome banked in a triple at the top of the key to cut the Archers’ lead, 86-87, with three seconds left.

Almond Vosotros was fouled with 1.9 ticks left, and he split his free throws for the final score. Ateneo was unable to get the possession back after Perkins got the offensive rebound.

Ravena paced the Blue Eagles with 22 points while Newsome and Nico Elorde added 15 and 14 points, respectively.

Sauler cited his team’s defense on the Ateneo star.

"Ravena will always be Ravena. The best thing you can do about him his challenge his shot. I think Julian (Sargent) and Robert (Bolick) did a good job on him," said Sauler.

At the end of the first half, La Salle took a 44-36 lead after dominating the inside points department, 26-14.

Teng had a torrid start, scoring 15 points in the first quarter and ended the first half with 21 markers. Ravena, for his part, led the Eagles with 15 points, all of which came in the second period, including a halftime buzzer-beater.