There are some nights where things veer away from what they planned it to be. And on a Tuesday night at the 2017 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Semifinals in Pasig City, Jeron Teng was bitten hard by the bad luck bug.
With 2:18 left in the second quarter of Game Two between Flying V and CEU, Teng gathered, planted his pivot foot, and opted to spin around his defender. But unfortunately he slipped, and he hurt his right foot in the process.
Teng still managed to get back into the game, but with 7:21 remaining in the payoff period, the wide-bodied six-foot-three wingman was whistled for his sixth foul while playing defense, signalling the end of the night for him.
The former King Archer still managed to chip in 13 points in 13 attempts. But nothing could take away from how bad the night was for him, as the Thunder failed to close the series out, 93-72, and absorbed their first-ever loss of the conference.
“That happens eh, matapilok sa laro. May mga calls na ‘di ako nag-a-agree, pero it’s part of basketball eh,” said Teng after the match. “As a player, you just have to play thru it. Learning lesson din from me.
“Kailangan ko lang bumawi next game. Babawi ako next game.”
Regarding their first loss in as many games, the leading candidate for Conference MVP rued his team’s complacency in Game Two, which, obviously, backfired onto them in the worst way possible — getting dismantled by 21.
“I think we were too relaxed in today’s game,” reflected the 23-year old.
Still, negatives did not waft through the air of Flying V’s locker room after the disappointing loss. The Thunder are taking the setback as a challenge instead, that their fate is in their hands and not everybody else’s.
“We’re still positive,” said Teng. “I think it really tests our character, if how much we really want this, how much we really want to get in the Finals. It’s really up to us next game if how we’re gonna bounce back from this loss.
“I think we can, we just have to show up next game and play For sure next game dahil do-or-die, siyempre iba na yung approach namin.”
