By Jonathan Talosig
Layout by Suzanne Pagkaliwangan
It is likely the collegiate
match up of the decade, the AliFrazier match in the Filipino hard
court held in the SM Moa Arena.
It was a day to be reckoned with
as the De La Salle Green Archers
have made it to the top to be
crowned as the UAAP season
’76 champions against the first
runner up UST Growling Tigers.
The memorable event broke the
five year championship drought
that the Archers have suffered
ever since.
the PBA Draft, it was Jeric Teng’s
turn to lead the way. In fact, he is
the most consistent player in the
team, averages 16 points per
game. He suffered a shoulder
injury in the middle of the season
as the NU Bulldog guard Jeff
Javillonar pushed him at the
back, making Jeric crash to the
floor injuring his shoulder. But he
came back with a vengeance,
carrying his team to the UAAP
Finals for the second straight
time.
From their former coach
Gie Abanilla, the management
decided to change their ways
as their new coach Juno Sauler
carried the powerhouse team to
take care of the team chemistry
that molded the roster into a
championship caliber team. It
took three games before the
decision of the championship.
With La Salle being in their big
boys pants, it was the heart
of
the
Archers
surpassing
the competitive spirit of the
Growling Tigers. Story of this
three game series was told
through a sibling rivalry of Jeron
and Jeric, the Teng brothers,
who pushed themselves to show
who deserves the crown.
Jeric has been in the UAAP for
five years for the Tigers. He was
considered as the leader of the
Tigers due to his competitiveness,
amazing ball handling skills, and
high basketball I.Q. Together
with
his
teammates
Jeric
Fortuna, Kevin Ferrer, and Aljon
Mariano, their team was a force
to be reckoned with. But they
suffered the same fate like last
year in season ’75 as the Tigers
were defeated by the Ateneo
Blue Eagles 2 games to 1. This
year, after Fortuna left UST for
On the green side of
things, Jeron played for the
Archers for his 2nd year. But
before bringing havoc to the
hardcourt in his collegiate days,
he made his mark in his high
school days. Scoring 104 points
in his days in Xavier is just epic.
That is why Jeron is trusted by his
teammates in his rookie year.
He was the rookie of the year
last year because of his prowess
of being a slasher in the paint.
They went short of being in the
top 2 last year because of the
championship poise of the
Blue Eagles, defeating them in
the quarter finals. This year was
different, from their bad start
in the season, they managed
to be in the top after marking
seven straight victories against
different teams. They carried the
streak until UST defeated them in
the first game of the finals.
88
The second and third
game was painted green by the
King Archer Jeron Teng. He was
also called Mr. Fourth Quarter
due to his impact in late game
situations.
The brothers threw elbows to
each others.
Articles in the internet
said that those two in home are
not “brothers” because both are
competitive and want to win the
crown. After the game though,
Jeron hugged his teary eyed
brother. He said a statement
that “After the buzzer sounded,
I don’t know what to feel, but I
know the feeling of my brother”.
It only shows that basketball is
just a game, the chemistry and
the closeness of two siblings will
never fade.
Jeron Teng and Jeric Teng