The monkey is finally off the AMA Online Education Titans’ backs.
After absorbing back-to-back defeats at the hands of Racal and Tanduay, the Titans have finally made it back into the win column with a 69-61 victory over the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers, Monday afternoon.
Now at 2-2, the Titans — aside from their collective production — have no one to thank other than the league’s top scorer Jeron Teng, who led all scorers with 31 markers on 12-of-28 shooting.
The six-foot-three forward, who is now averaging 34.5 points per outing, helped save the Titans from facing a morale-crushing third straight loss, stepping up in the time needed the most particularly in the game’s final stretch.
With AMA entering the fourth behind by five, 52-47, the two-time UAAP gold medalist caught fire on offense, scoring 11 points in the quarter alone to anchor his team’s offense and lead them to the eight-point triumph.
For the 22-year-old, Monday’s skid-ending victory means a lot for the Titans.
“Well its a big win for us kasi lumulubog kami coming from those two losses. Naisip namin na in this game we really have to come back talaga, and we really have to win this game,” pointed out Teng.
Furthermore, the win also gives them enough leverage in the elimination phase for their main goal, and that is to gain a twice-to-beat edge for the 2017 Aspirant’s Cup playoffs.
“What’s good about our situation right now is, I think, we’re still in control because we have a lot more games,” Teng said. “And for sure yung ibang teams, matatalo pa rin yan.”
“We just have to take care of our business in our next games. We’ll see what happens there.”