Norwood on defending Romeo: ‘We didn’t do our job’

GlobalPort’s Terrence Romeo shoots over Rain or Shine’s Gabe Norwood. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Terrence Romeo was so slick on Sunday that he even managed to evade reporters after GlobalPort’s 117-99 win over Rain or Shine.

Minutes after setting a career-high 44 points, the super scorer’s impact was still felt inside Cuneta Astrodome.

“I can’t lie, It’s frustrating, especially in a game that we need to win and the situation that is going on tonight,” said Rain or Shine swingman Gabe Norwood. “He stepped up for his team and that’s what he’s expected to do. We didn’t do our job as a unit to try to slow him down.”

Despite the Elasto Painters’ best efforts, Romeo was still able to catch fire for GlobalPort, going 8-of-15 from threes, on top of six rebounds and six assists. 

“He hit a lot of shots, a lot of contested shots,” lamented Norwood, who was just one of those who manned the former Far Eastern University star. “It’s a team effort and I did my best to keep him in front of me, force some tough shots, but at the end of the day, we have to be on the same page defensively to stop their guard combination. It’s tough.”

Norwood also said what makes Romeo such a tough cover is his sky-high confidence, which only makes him more deadly once he gets his rhythm going.

“He has changed nothing. His confidence is through the roof and he works at it,” he said. “He missed a couple in the first quarter and I told him I know he’ll make the next one cause he puts in the work. He deserves every bucket that goes in. He can miss five in a row, but he knows he put in the work to make the next five. Kudos to him and we didn’t do the job to contest him.”

Romeo’s career game allowed GlobalPort to clinch a seat in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals, while Rain or Shine slipped to an even 5-5 card and is now in danger of falling out of the playoff picture.

“We’re all disappointed on ourselves, but the biggest thing is though we had problems, the answer is in our locker room,” he said. “We can easily step up in the next game and take care of business and be in a good spot. We got a lot of tough guys and we got to rely on one another to get it done.”

Rain or Shine takes one more crack at booking a ticket to the quarterfinals on Wednesday against Alaska.