Teytey Teodoro has always had the license to shoot in coach Vergel Meneses’ system. Ever since the 91st season of the NCAA, he was given the license to shoot from whatever range he wanted to, becoming one of the most lethal scorers in the league.
However, after a disappointing season last year that saw the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers knocked off the Final Four race with two weeks left, Meneses saw the need to add to Teodoro’s arsenal. And all throughout the off-season, both in the PBA D-League and the pre-season tournament, he helped hone the 23-year-old into a floor general.
“Sinabi ko nga sa kanya, every time na kailangan ma-involve yung kasama niya, yung kasama niya may confidence,” the PBA legend shared.
During their season-opener against the Lyceum Pirates however, the 5-foot-9 guard hardly showed his floor generalship, trying to will JRU on his own as he shot just 5-for-13 from the field, going 2-for-9 from distance while dishing out just one assist.
Seeing how they were blown off the floor by the Pirates, Teodoro realized how important ball movement was for them to succeed.
“I challenged them na just think about this, think about why we were successful dun sa preseason sa Filoil, hindi ba? We’re passing the ball, we look for the open man,” Meneses furthered.
“Yun nakita ko kay Teytey, he kept on passing the ball.”
Against Perpetual, Teodoro was efficient, scoring 26 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and dishing out three assists. Moreover, it led to a great bounce back win, 68-54.
“Siguro nag double effort lang ako kasi kaming mga beterano na-disappoint kami nung first game eh. Parang di kami beterano naglaro nun,” said the fourth-year Rizalian, who averaged just 1.3 assists last season.
“Kaya ngayon first quarter pa lang ginawa ko naging aggressive na ako.”
And Meneses hopes that Teodoro can sustain this form all throughout the season.
“Ilang assists? Three? Dati wala eh. Dati zero, ngayon three,” the Aerial Voyager said.
“He’s one of the veterans, he knows how to play the game.”
