UP AGAINST a side that was out to stop him at all cost, Terrence Romeo faced the challenge head on and destroyed the defensive blanket that had been a bane to many other teams in the Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup.
Scattering a career-high 41 points, Romeo led a furious start and a swashbuckling finish for GlobalPort, which took a 1-0 lead in its Final Four series with Alaska after a 107-93 victory last night at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The 5-foot-11 gunslinger hit 13 in the first period, when the Batang Pier opened up an 18-point lead, and then finished off the Aces with 11 in the fourth as GlobalPort showed not a trace of being a semifinal first-timer and wrested psychological edge going into the second game tomorrow.
“We just played our usual game; Terrence played his usual game—it was high-scoring,” said GlobalPort’s Pido Jarencio, who is also in his first appearance this deep in a playoff series as a coach.
“We were up against the best defensive team in Alaska, which shuts down teams to below 80 points. But our players were aggressive (against that defense).”
GLOBALPORT’S Terrence Romeo pivots for a shot off Alaska’s Cyrus Baguio in last night’s Game 1 at Mall of Asia Arena. KIMBERLY DELA CRUZ
Alaska, which topped the elimination round using defense as its trump card, was never in it after a 2-all tie, trailing big and never recovering as so many others stepped up for GlobalPort during brief periods when Romeo slowed down.
“They really played well; they beat us fair and square,” Alaska coach Alex Compton said after the Aces’ most lopsided defeat this conference. “They maximized their talent, and coach Pido doesn’t get much credit for doing that.”
Cyrus Baguio scored 15 points, good enough to lead the Alaska offense.
“Obviously, Terrence struggled today,” Compton said in jest, praising the talent of the swingman whom he helped handle in the Gilas Pilipinas team several months back.
“Terrence was fantastic. We have to be great defensively [in the next games] and maybe we can hold Terrence to 30. He’s really good.”
Stanley Pringle, the other half of GlobalPort’s dynamic backcourt duo, fired 14 points, had six rebounds and four steals. Billy Mamaril and Keith Jensen added 12 points apiece.
Meanwhile, defending champion San Miguel Beer and third-ranked Rain or Shine start their own best-of-seven semifinal series today, also at Mall of Asia Arena.
Game time is 7 p.m. with the Beermen hoping to blow away the cobwebs after a two-week layoff in the early minutes of the series-opener against the Elasto Painters, who will welcome back superstar point guard Paul Lee.
Lee missed all of Rain or Shine’s first 13 games because of a left knee injury and, according to coach Yeng Guiao, will be playing “10 to 12 minutes, tops” for the side that owns one of only two losses the Beermen suffered in the eliminations.
June Mar Fajardo, the 6-foot-10 reigning two-time MVP and San Miguel cornerstone, will lead his squad on both ends against the beefy Rain or Shine frontline led by Beau Belga and JR Quiñahan.
The scores:
GLOBALPORT 107—Romeo 41, Pringle 14, Jensen 12, Mamaril 12, Kramer 6, Semerad 6, Washington 6, Yeo 5, Maierhofer 4, Sumang 1, Pena 0.
ALASKA 93—Baguio 15, Jazul 14, Manuel 14, Abueva 12, Thoss 12, Banchero 8, Menk 8, Casio 5, Hontiveros 3, Baclao 2, Dela Cruz 0, Dela Rosa 0, Exciminiano 0.
Quarters: 29-18, 52-42, 82-74, 107-93