Teng's 32 points vs Ateneo earn him UAAP Player of the Week nod

MANILA, Philippines - A chance to gain a share of the top spot and facing an arch rival seemed to have fired up Jeron Teng.

La Salle's all-important 88-86 win over Ateneo last Sunday was attributed mostly to the efforts of Teng, whose 32 points enabled the Green Archers to tie the Blue Eagles and the Far Eastern University Tamaraws for the lead at 6-2.

Teng scored 21 points in the first half as the defending champions raced to a 13-point second quarter lead before finding ways to involve his teammates to avenge their 97-86 loss to the Kiefer Ravena-led Eagles in the first round.

"In the first half, I saw some openings for me so I took it, but in the second half, nag-adjust ang defense sa akin kaya I tried to look for my open teammates," said Teng, who also had six rebounds and five assists.

The brilliance of the 20-year-old earned him the UAAP Press Corps-Accel Quantum Plus/3XVI Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Teng's output came three points shy of tying his career-high of 35 markers set two years ago against National University. He shot 7-of-16 from the field and made 17-of-20 free throws despite being a 69.6 percent shooter from the foul line in the first round.

Behind Teng, La Salle stretched its winning streak to six games, erasing the bitter memory of losing to FEU and Ateneo to start the season.

Teng has averaged 27 points in the last two games, but his coach Juno Sauler has also praised him for leading La Salle's team-oriented play.

"He makes very good reads and he involves his teammates," said Sauler. "The reason why the other guys were scoring is not because of the openings they got but because of Jeron recognizing the defense."

Teng won the weekly honor supported by Bactigel Hand Sanitizer, Mighty Mom Dishwashing and Dr. J Rubbing Alcohol over teammate Jason Perkins, University of the East's Charles Mammie and the FEU pair of Mac Belo and Carl Bryan Cruz.