FilOil: DLSU's option play leads to Jeron Teng's game-tying triple

The situation: June 2, the final day of the elimination round of the 2012 FilOil Flying V Pre-season Tournament. DLSU is trailing ADMU by 3, 53-50, with 18.8 seconds to go.

DLSU has Almond Vosotros (17) inbounding the ball, with Norbert Torres (6), Yutien Andrada (20), Jeron Teng (24) and LA Revilla (12).

ADMU counters with Oping Sumalinog (17), JP Erram (10), Nico Salva (8), Kiefer Ravena (15) and Juami Tiongson (5).

The Jeron Teng mailbag

Going off some received tweets about the news that Jeron Teng will commit to DLSU...

Here's what we know about Jeron Teng: he scores most of his points as a slasher, but he's going to score at a lower percentage because of the speed and height of his UAAP defenders. His rebounding is questionable, because of the lack of height in the Tiong Lian (6'3" centers ahoy!) and because he'll be a collegiate shooting guard instead of a high school forward. As the primary scoring option in Xavier School, he doesn't pass a whole lot, but let's assume he will with DLSU as he can't overpower double teams anymore. Xavier plays an up-tempo style with a big focus on the transition game so maybe he manages a steal every now and then, though he himself with turn the ball over a lot as he gets used to the faster pace of the college game and the general increase in athleticism. I'm also projecting him to play around 20 minutes per game because DLSU would want to showcase their blue chip recruit. That makes me think he'll resemble something like the following two players. See if you can guess who they are.

Player 1: 20 minutes, 9.73 points on 34.58 percent shooting, 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals, 2.8 turnovers.

Player 2: 20.43 minutes, 9.43 points on 36.71 percent shooting, 3.9 rebounds, 0.93 assists, 0.5 steals, 2.71 turnovers

So who are the above two players?

Player 1 happens to be Jarelan Tampus, with his per-minute averages expanded to 20 minutes instead of the 15 minutes he averaged in Season 74.

Player 2 happens to be Joshua Webb, circa Season 72.

That's right, I have Jeron Teng looking like two of his own teammates. Admittedly, he'd be ahead of the curve if he can average that in his rookie year (versus Tampus' and Webb's sophomore year stats) but if you're La Salle, you're wishing he can provide more than that, especially since the hope is that he can be a future go-to guy.

(You're also hoping he can eventually expand his range to hit three-pointers more reliably. Tampus was 0/1 in Season 74 and 0/0 as a rookie, Webb is 7/48 for his career)

DLSU has Simon Atkins and Maui Villanueva graduating, leaving the rest of their roster intact. Here's how it looks right now:

PG: LA Revilla / Almond Vosotros / Dan Sara
SG: Luigi Dela Paz / Jarelan Tampus
SF: Joshua Webb / Joseph Marata

Assuming everyone comes back, that's a pretty crowded line-up, and we're not even factoring in Mark Tallo (PG), or possible recruits like Alex Torres and Gab Reyes from DLSZ (both SG/SF).

Let's say Revilla decides not to come back due to his health, while Marata and Sara get dropped to Team B.

PG: Mark Tallo / Almond Vosotros
SG: Jeron Teng / Luigi Dela Paz / Jarelan Tampus
SF: Joshua Webb / Gab Reyes / Alex Torres

That's a ton of guys who need the ball in their hands to be effective, with Tallo and Vosotros not being traditional point guards to boot. In fact, you could make the argument that everyone in that line-up is a scorer! And to further complicate things, we're not even factoring in the amount of touches the big men will need too. It goes without saying that head coach Gee Abanilla will definitely need to work on ball sharing in the off-season. If La Salle's offense devolves into a series of iso-sets, I doubt they'll be able to make the Final Four.

For argument's sake, let's look at the NU and ADMU line-ups, which were the other two schools that were going hard after Jeron.

NU
PG: Jelo Alolino / Cedrick Labing-isa / JJ Alejandro (rookie)
SG: Ajeet Singh / Robin Rono / Reden Celda
SF: Bobby Ray Parks / Jeoffrey Javillonar

ADMU
PG: Juami Tiongson / Nico Elorde (transferee)
SG: Kiefer Ravena / Tonino Gonzaga / Von Pessumal / Jomar Adonardo (Team B)
SF: Ryan Buenafe (one-year leave) / Oping Sumalinog / Gwynne Capacio

Both teams are pretty stacked as well, plus you have guys like Parks and Ravena who will dominate the ball much more over the others, but you can at least say that some of the other guys are role players (defenders like Singh and Gonzaga, traditional point guards like Alolino and Elorde) who won't demand the ball, or will look to pass first before anything else.

Jeron Teng commits to DLSU

Image courtesy of Archer Pride's Twitter account

As reported by numerous media outlets earlier today, blue-chipper Jeron Teng of the Xavier School Golden Stallions has committed to DLSU and will be a Green Archer in Season 75. His brother, Jeric, tweeted this morning about having to play against his brother, before saying that Jeron would be an Archer. Later in the afternoon, Jeron then confirmed the news on his own Twitter account, all of which can be seen in a snazzy graphic courtesy of GMA News.

Publicity-wise, this is a big get for La Salle. The Archers have been up and down in recent years, hitting a nadir last season when they went 1-6 in the second round to close out the season at 5-9. As a result, head coach Dindo Pumaren was let go, replaced by Gee Abanilla. Getting Teng was a show of force, a message to the other seven teams that DLSU was not about to go quietly into the night.

But what exactly do they get player-wise? Teng is the biggest name in what is a shallow recruitment year, and a lot of his recognition stems from a 104-point scoring binge that he put up a year ago. Since then, he and the rest of the Stallions won a third straight Tiong Lian title, with Teng getting his second straight MVP plume. That was February 2011. It's a bit surprising really that Teng didn't wait until after this season's Tiong Lian (which starts tomorrow, as a matter of fact), to see if he could boost his stock.

So who is Teng on the court based on last year? Here's what I wrote after his big scoring game:

listed at 6'1", Teng played the small forward spot, though he definitely does not have the shooting touch most people associate with that position. Instead, Teng operates mostly in the paint, hitting 8-foot jumpers reliably, or bullying his way into the lane. This was made easier for him due to the lack of height on the Grace Christian team. Despite double, triple, and even quadruple teams, Teng would usually opt to take shot forced shots, banking on his athleticism to get the rebound and the easy put-back. Teng's 0 assists was indicative of his score-first mentality, though it may just be a statement about his team's composition and depth (or lack of it).

Teng and his teammates run a pressure defense, and they took good advantage of it, forcing 42 turnovers, with 30 steals. That led to more shot opportunities (124 to 84), most of them uncontested, letting Teng pad his stats even more.

I also took a look at Jeron's contemporaries a few days after his big game, other high school stars with big scoring games and how they translated in the collegiate ranks. Let's just say, it's not a nice group to be in.

Jeron's decision to become a Green Archer makes a lot of sense vis a vis his other options. The two other schools that really went after him were NU, which has Bobby Ray Parks, and ADMU, which has Kiefer Ravena. Splitting touches with either of those two would have been tough, while at Taft, down the road if everything goes to plan, he could possibly be the main man for that team.

Be Careful Not to Overrate Jeron Teng

First, the numbers: 104 points (37/70 FG, 1/5 3PT, 29/34 FT), 24 rebounds (20 offensive), 6 steals, 2 blocks, 0 assists, 1 turnover.

Image courtesy of the Tiong Lian Basketball website

Next, the scouting report: listed at 6'1", Teng played the small forward spot, though he definitely does not have the shooting touch most people associate with that position. Instead, Teng operates mostly in the paint, hitting 8-foot jumpers reliably, or bullying his way into the lane. This was made easier for him due to the lack of height on the Grace Christian team. Despite double, triple, and even quadruple teams, Teng would usually opt to take shot forced shots, banking on his athleticism to get the rebound and the easy put-back. Teng's 0 assists was indicative of his score-first mentality, though it may just be a statement about his team's composition and depth (or lack of it).

Teng and his teammates run a pressure defense, and they took good advantage of it, forcing 42 turnovers, with 30 steals. That led to more shot opportunities (124 to 84), most of them uncontested, letting Teng pad his stats even more.

Though the game was clearly over as early as the end of the first half, when Xavier was up 68 to 32, Teng was clearly gunning for the Tiong Lian league scoring record of 64. He would top that with four minutes left in the third on a pair of free throws, and would later reach the 100-point summit with a minute and change left in the fourth. In all, he played 35:22 minutes.

What makes Teng's performance impressive is the fact that at 16 years old, Teng still has a lot of growing and learning to do, before he graduates high school. If he manages to grow an inch or two more and work on his jump shot, he could be a great recruit for many schools.

The converse though is true as well. A 6'1" shooting guard in the collegiate level is not going to make a lot of waves, especially if his range is limited. He'll also need to work on his court vision and find open teammates, especially if he continues to draw multiple defenders.

And as is typical in such cases, one might want to pass judgment on the quality of the opposition, in this case, the, as of writing, 1 and 3 Grace Christian High School squad. One might even choose to look down on the Tiong Lian league as a whole, saying that it's not as competitive as perhaps, the juniors ranks of the UAAP or the NCAA.

In any event, the word is: caution. The younger Teng brother has all the tools and opportunities to really become a great player. But the track record for super-star scorers in the collegiate level is spotty at best, and a more well-rounded game might be the best thing for him and his future career.

Jeron Teng Shatters the HS Scoring Record

Xavier School junior Jeron Teng, brother of UST Growling Tiger Jeric Teng, accomplished an amazing feat, scoring 104 points on 37/70 FG, 29/34 FT, and 1/5 3PT, the highest amount by a Filipino high school student. He also chipped in 24 rebounds (Edited to add: 20 offensive, 4 defensive), 6 steals, and 2 blocks, in a 164-76 rout of Grace Christian High School.

Teng is supposedly going to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, but schools like Ateneo de Manila University and National University have also expressed interest in him. It's possible that more schools will look his way now, thanks to this performance.