Jeron Teng is making the most of his opportunity with the most successful franchise in the PBA.
Jeron Teng has seen his minutes with San Miguel rise in the ongoing PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup.
That also translated to better production, none more evident in the team’s 110-98 win over Meralco on April 9 where he wound up with 11 points, three rebounds, and a steal in almost 15 minutes of play.
The former Alaska/Converge main man has coach Leo Austria to thank for his extended time.
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“Siguro this conference sa past two games I was given more minutes than the previous conference. When you have a coach who gives you an opportunity, of course you have to make the most of it,” said Teng, who is averaging over eight points as the Beermen raced off to a 2-0 start.
After moving to the Beermen from Converge in October 2023, Teng quickly shifted from main man to role player at SMB.
But unlike before, he is getting more opportunity now that the Beermen want to avenge their Finals loss to the Bolts in the all-Filipino conference last season.
He doesn’t see the years that followed as wasted conferences.
“I can’t say na walang frustration. Pero as a player I see things as an opportunity to grow e. So those times na 'di ako nagagamit, 'di sa wala akong ginawa, that time I was focused on learning from my teammates,” he said.
“I have guys like Chris Ross, like Marcio (Lassiter) — they’re winners, they’re champions in this league. I have the opportunity to be with them each day in practice so every day I try to learn from them, I ask them questions on both offense and defense. I don’t see it as wasted conferences. I’m learning. That didnt stop me from working harder. I make sure I always work on my game and try to be the hardest worker that I can be.”
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During that stretch, the burly forward said he simply put premium on defense.
That was exactly why he was having more opportunities to strut his stuff on the court.
“Pero just in practice, he (Austria) challenges everybody to really focus on defense. I’m just lucky enough to have guys, I have an opportunity (to guard) in practice si CJay (Perez), Don (Trollano), si Marcio (Lassiter), si Jericho (Cruz),” he said.
“Du'n ko napa-practice talaga defense ko. They’re known scorers so we really push ourselves in practice and make each other better.”