Jeron Teng continues his blistering start, lifting the Flying V Thunder along the way
Behind Teng’s 35 points, the Flying V Thunder were able to cruise past the Gamboa Coffee Lovers, 119-104, Monday morning at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Flying V is now 2-0 in the standings while Gamboa Coffee dropped to 1-1 after a thrilling debut against Zark’s Burger last May 25.
Teng, 23, burned the Gamboa defense, going 12-for-20 from the field and scoring 20 markers in the first half alone to help give the Thunder a double-digit lead.
“Just like the usual Jeron, he carried us especially in the first half,” Flying V head coach Eric Altamirano said.
However, the league’s leading scorer at 34.0 points per game figured into foul trouble in the second half. It helped Gamboa Coffee to cut the lead to just 11 points, 62-73, during the third frame.
Fortunately for the Thunder Eric Salamat stepped up anew.
“When he got into foul trouble si Eric naman ang nagdala sa amin nung second half,” Altamirano remarked about the former Ateneo floor general, who scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half. Gab Banal added 15 markers.
Even if Flying V lead by as much as 19 points, 96-77, Altamirano was disappointed by his team’s defense that allowed Gamboa to shoot 53 percent from the field, 9-for-21 from downtown.
“It’s good that we won but I wasn’t really satisfied with our game. I think we didn’t assert ourselves defensively,” he lamented.
The Thunder shot 55 percent from the field and were able to force Gamboa to commit 22 turnovers that led to 26 points.
Val Acuna paced Gamboa Coffee with 22 points, including five three-pointers. Mark Sarangay finished with a huge double-double as well with 18 points and 17 rebounds while playing-coach Leo Avenido chipped in 13 markers.
Flying V will have a 12-day break before taking on the Wangs Basketball Couriers at 12:00nn. Gamboa Coffee, on the other hand, looks to bounce back when they face the Cignal Hawkeyes on Thursday, June 15 at 12:00nn.
The Scores:
Flying V (119) РTeng 35, Salamat 20, Banal 15, Thiele 12, Ca̱ada 10, Ongteco 6, Dionisio 6, Tampus 6, Torres 4, Webb 3, Colina 2, Mendoza 0.
Gamboa Coffee (105) РAcu̱a 22, Sarangay 18, Acibar 15, Avenido 13, Padilla 10, Knuttel 7, Arellano 7, Jumao-as 5, Montuano 4, Dadjilul 4, David 0, Riva 0, Vidal 0.
Quarterscores: 31-25, 60-48, 87-73, 119-105.
