As promised, 23-year-old Jeron Teng trained with Gilas Pilipinas pool Friday afternoon. For him, it is his duty to both the country and the sport of basketball to help the national team out even if a spot in the team is not a guarantee.
“Slim ba? Parang wala na atang chance e,” Teng quipped when asked about his aspirations of being named to either the SEA Games or FIBA Asia Cup teams that are set to compete next month. “Basta I’m just here. I’ll go here whenever I can kasi may school pa ako at tinatapos ko pa degree ko. May comittment din ako sa Flying V. Whenever, I’m free pupunta ako dito to help the team out.
“Makatulong man lang sa Gilas in my small, little way, happy na ako dun”
Currently, Teng, the leading scorer in the on-going PBA D-League Foundation Cup, is in his final term in the De La Salle University. He is in the midst of his thesis and on-the-job-training as he aims to graduate with a degree in Business Management.
However, in order to finish on time this October, the two-time UAAP Finals Most Valuable Player needed to take a full load this semester (18 units).
“Last term ko na so mag-ma-march ako sa October. Full load ako ngayon, thesis then may classes pa ako tapos and may OJT na project-based,” the 6-foot-2 forward shared.
Though basketball has become his stress-reliever from academics, the learning process never stops for him. Even if nothing is guaranteed with the National Team, Teng just wants to learn new things from Gilas head coach Chot Reyes and his staff.
“Well, ang sinasabi ko sa kanya na being here would be beneficial for him. To be able to play with this kind of competition would be of great help to him,” Reyes said as he gave Teng numerous pointers during Friday’s session.
“Kita mo naman sa competition dito, mahahasa ka talaga.”
“Wala namang sinabi si coach [regarding being plugged to the two national teams set to compete in August] pero pupunta pa rin ako dito para ma-work out din ako and to learn from the coaches and the players,” Teng furthered.
Moreover, Teng, who is a lock to be a lottery pick in the upcoming PBA Draft, is confident that he could balance all of this as he looks forward to a memorable October.
“Kaya naman.”
