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     Jeric Teng is back in his form as he leads the Tigers to victory against the Adamson Soaring Falcons edging them to an 83-79 win yesterday as the action continues in the second round of the 75th season of the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

     Player of the game, Jeric Teng gets his rhythm back as he grabs 22 markers and hauled down 6 rebounds with two assists. He shot five treys from beyond the arc, giving the Falcons a tough time to recover. Even though Adamson’s Jericho Cruz had a game-high of 33 points and 8 rebounds, it just wasn’t enough to take down the Mighty Tigers.

     “Binibigyan talaga ako ni Coach Pido ng confidence…before I was hesitant with the ball, pero ngayon kaya ko na, nakatulong talaga ang decision making ko sa game na to,” Jeric Teng said.

     The Tigers played offensively, attacking the paint at the same time hitting those perimeter shots in the first half, but the Falcons’ performance was also stunning as their three point percentage shooting resulted to a total of nine triples that paved way to earn a temporary six-point lead, 36-42 by the end of the first half.

     Though it was only Fortuna who got fouled-out of the game in the fourth quarter, Abdul, Teng and Ferrer also had foul troubles early in the second-half. Despite the penalty free-throws given to the Falcons, the Tigers were still able to hold on.

     The Tigers then started to pick up their pace during the third quarter, with continuous baskets by Abdul and Ferrer. In this quarter Teng also erupted as he shot two treys grabbing the Adamson lead, which ended the third with 61-58. The UST Tigers had made a tremendous comeback, outscoring the AdU Falcons with 25-16.

     It was a seesaw battle between the two teams exchanging leads one after the other. It was a close game, but UST had to seal the game once and for all, featuring a clutch triple by Jeric Teng giving UST a two point advantage with a 1:45 remaining in the game.

     However, there was a controversial unsportsmanlike foul given to Kevin Ferrer in the latter part of the game and was ejected due to another unsportsmanlike foul earlier in the game.

     “I don’t want to argue with the referees, rules are rules…If Kevin gets suspended, for sure there will be someone who will fill up his position,” Coach Pido said.

     Luckily for Kevin Ferrer, he was not given a suspension for that call because it was not an infraction meat to hurt, however he will still get a warning for the other unsportsmanlike foul in the first half.

     Even without Fortuna and Ferrer on the court, the Falcons didn’t have enough time to get back. The Tigers clinched their 8th win as the time expired.

     “It is the support of the UST community that really strengthens and motivates my players to play better,” as stated by Coach Pido Jarencio.

Tigers’ Scores: Teng 22, Abdul 19, Mariano 16, Bautista 11, Ferrer 8, Fortuna 7, Vigil 0, Afuang 0, Lo 0, Pe 0
Falcons’ Scores: Cruz 33, Rios 12, Etrone 11, Trollano 7, Camson 5, Cabrera 5, Brondial 5, Agustin 1, Monteclaro 0, Abrigo 0
Quarter Scores: 16-16, 36-42, 61-58, 83-79

By Josiah Darren G. Saynes
Photo taken by Gelli Ann J. Javellana