MANILA, Philippines – University of Santo Tomas captain Jeric Teng, hobbled by a shoulder injury, helplessly watched his team succumbed to a 67-77 loss to tournament pacesetter FEU Tamaraws yesterday but remains positive with his team.
The fifth-year player suffered an anterior labrum tear in his right shoulder last July 10 after a collision with NU’s Joeffrey Javillonar but Teng is hopeful that he will be back this season even as early as the second round of the UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball tournament.
“Wala pa naman definite date ng pagbabalik ko pero ang target namin hopefully by the second round makapaglaro na ulit ako,†said Teng, a marketing student.
Despite his unfortunate injury, the older brother of DLSU’s Jeron Teng is looking at the silver lining for the team and believes it will help them down the road.
“Although di ako nakakapaglaro ngayon maganda sa team namin marami ang nag-i-step-up kaya pagbalik ko mas aangat yung laro ng buong team kasi mataas na confidence nila,†said Teng.
“Sinabi naman nila sakin na sila muna bahala habang wala ako at magpagaling lang muna ako,†he added.
Teng still attends team practices and tries to help his team in any way he can to teach some of the things he learned through his UAAP career.
“Last year ko na din ito kaya gusto ko maganda exit ko, pupumupunta ako sa practice at tinuturuan ko sila ng mga pwede kong maitulong sa kanila,†he said.