‘Phenomenal.’
Alaska head coach Jeff Cariaso described Cariaso as such – and he deserves it, with the way he balled out on Saturday. The game saw him lead one of the most thrilling comebacks in the 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup.
The 27-year-old dropped a career-high 30 points, 14 of which he made in the fourth quarter alone. This, while the Aces rallied from as much as 20 points down on the way to the 102-97 victory over Terrafirma – their third win in a row.
“JT was phenomenal tonight,” said the seasoned mentor moments after the match at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
But Cariaso felt especially in awe of how Teng embraced responsibility when the team decided to defer to him. After all, the coaches felt that the wide-bodied 6-foot-3 bruiser is a difficult match-up for the opposition.
Photo by PBA Images
“With JT being out there, we felt that he was a hard matchup for them at the three-position. Kasing-laki siya ni [Andreas] Cahilig or Cahilig is a little bigger, but we felt like there was still a mismatch with JT,” he explained.
“So we wanted to go to him. And he was ready,” added the former cager-turned-coach. “He was prepared when we put him at the spots where he was comfortable, and we allowed him to kinda go a little bit.
“Good game by JT.”
For Teng, though, he and the team simply felt motivated to win whatever it takes. They would want to make this particular campaign even more memorable before the ball club bids adieu for good.
“We just gutted it out,” he said. “We knew how important this game is. And like what I said, every game, we’re inspired. We’re doing it for the Alaska company, of course for Boss Fred [Alaska team owner Wilfred Uytengsu].
“And for all the players that played before us, yung mga legends ng Alaska. Sa management, sa coaches, we’re all inspired. And of course sa Alaska fans since ’86 na hanggang ngayon nandito. Kayo ang nagiinspire sa aming mga players.”
And as sensational as he was, Teng said that it was still their ‘We Not Me’ mantra that came into effect in the rousing victory. They hiked their record to 5-2 to keep their position in the third spot in the standings.
“Alam naman natin sa Alaska, ‘yung mantra namin na we not me. So even until the end, ‘yun ‘yung mantra namin. And we always play with integrity, like gusto ni Boss Fred, and you know, we always play together no matter what.”
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