There was more to just a bum stomach that kept Terrence Romeo from playing than what coach Franz Pumaren let on after GlobalPort’s crucial 105-86 victory over Mahindra Sunday evening.
The win ended the Batang Pier’s losing skid and kept them behind eighth placer Phoenix Petroleum with a 2-5 win-loss record.
After the game, Pumaren was all smiles when he faced sportswriters during the interview. The team managed to put up a balanced scoring led by Stanley Pringle, who delivered a game-high 24 points.
Aside from Pringle, four more locals submitted double figures—Von Pessumal , Mike Cortez, Aaron Aban and JR Quiñahan.
“We’ve been hoping for the bench to contribute and that’s exactly what happened,” added Pumaren. “We should give credit to Terrence, who still showed up [even if] he’s not 100 percent [okay] because of LBM.”
When asked if he would have fielded Romeo if the game was close, Pumaren said he thought about it even if it would have been “too risky to do that.”
He said Romeo was prone to injury because his body did not have enough nutrients to play.
Well, that’s what Pumaren told sportswriters.
Somebody who requested anonymity approached this writer after the interview and whispered that Romeo did not really suffer from a bum stomach.
Romeo, according to the source, went on a drinking spree the night before and went home about 8 a.m. Sunday, hours before the Batang Pier’s crucial game against the Floodbuster.