Terrence Romeo vs Mike DiGregorio. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Terrence Romeo found his shooting stroke when GlobalPort needed it the most.
Misfiring from rainbow country all game long, the Gilas slasher came through for GlobalPort in the clutch, leading the Batang Pier to a pulsating 118-116 overtime victory against a tough Mahindra squad Saturday in the 2016 Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Romeo went 0-of-12 from three before finally knocking down one in the last 29.8 seconds to knot the score at 116 in OT. He then pounced on Karl Dehesa’s missed three, went coast-to-coast and crossed Mike Mike DiGregorio for the game-winning lay-up with 3.3 seconds to spare.
“Wala kang masasabi sa bata,” GlobalPort coach Pido Jarencio said of Romeo. “He just kept on shooting hanggang makuha nya yung kailangan na three-points. Dun na sya sa huli pumutok. Nakakabilib din kasi di sya nawalan ng kumpyansa.”
Romeo drained eight of his 29 points in the overtime period and also registered 10 rebounds and eight assists as the Batang Pier secured a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals with their 7-3 card.
Stanley Pringle carried the team all-game long and almost had a near triple-double with 29 markers, eight boards and seven dimes, while Jay Washington got 12 points and eight rebounds.
“Grabe ang nilaro ng Mahindra, at the same time, iba ang pinakitang character ng team. Ayaw talagang bumitaw,” said Jarencio. “They want to get this win for the management and for the fans of GlobalPort.”
He added, “Going to the playoffs, at least matibay na ang team. Pinakita lang nila na ready sila for the playoffs.”
Bradwyn Guinto put Mahindra up, 103-101 in the final 10.7 seconds, but Pringle nailed a stepback jumper at the buzzer to force five more minutes.
It was a sorry defeat for the Enforcers (2-8), who drew significant contributions from Aldrech Ramos, who led the squad with 24 points, Karl Dehesa, who finished with 23 markers, eight assists, and five steals, and birthday boy DiGregorio, who wound up with 19 points on a 5-of-7 shooting from threes.
The Scores:
GLOBALPORT 118 – Pringle 29, Romeo 29, Mamaril 12, Washington 12, Yeo 11, Kramer 10, Semerad 7, Maierhofer 6, Uyloan 2, Pena 0, Sumang 0.
MAHINDRA 116 – Ramos 24, Dehesa 23, DiGregorio 19, Yee 14, Guinto 11, Pascual 9, Canaleta 6, Laure 5, Pinto 4, Bagatsing 1, Hubalde 0.
Quarters: 23-22, 44-49, 79-72, 103-103, 118-116.