Terrence Romeo. Photo by Junnel Maranan/ICM
MANILA, Philippines — Far Eastern University guard Terrence Romeo admittedly was far from his usual explosive form as of late.
Romeo’s play — particularly his scoring — dipped significantly so far in the second round averaging just 10 points per game, exactly half of his scoring norm in the first seven games.
He wasn’t hitting tough shots he usually make and got a lot of flak for not sharing the ball — a habit he can’t seem to shake off completely.
Romeo admitted that the negative comments, especially after the Tamaraws’ 58-59 loss to National University, affected him to some extent.
“Medyo, ng konti [a bit],” Romeo said. “Ginawa ko motivation eh. Gusto ko lang i-prove sa kanila na mali sila eh. [I use it as my motivation, to prove them wrong].”
But Romeo knows that to shut his naysayers up, he has to put in more work.
“Siyempre di naman ako perfect na kung ano gusto ko mangyayari kagad. May process. Darating rin ako dun [I’m not perfect. Not everything I want to achieve happens right away. There’s a process and I’ll get there eventually].”
Romeo said they weren’t executing as well as they do in the first round, where the Tamaraws swept through competition for a 7-0 record.
“Wala namang iba sa mga ginagawa namin na makakapagbaba sa laro namin. Nagkataon lang na di namin makuha yung game namin [we’re not really doing anything different to bring us down. We just couldn’t get our rhythm],” said Romeo, whose impressive numbers in the first round put him as a frontrunner to win his first MVP award.
“Tulad ko, ’yung mga tira ko di sumu-shoot tapos yung ibang plays di namin ma-execute ng tama [My shots are not falling in and we couldn’t execute some plays correctly],” he added.
But as FEU remains atop the standings with still five more games to go before the Final Four, Romeo knows giving up is not an option.
“Di kami dapat panghinaan ng loob. Di pa tapos liga [We shouldn’t lose our composure. The league is not yet over]. Kailangan namin mag-move forward,” he finished.