GlobalPort guard Terrence Romeo during the Batang Pier’s game against the Alaska Aces on Sunday, June 4, 2017, at Mall of Asia Arena. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Terrence Romeo is often criticized for his hero-ball mentality, but with GlobalPort’s season on the line, it was the super scorer’s score-first mindset that won it for the Batang Pier on Sunday night.
With GlobalPort down by a point, Romeo took matters into his own hands and drilled a killer trey to beat Alaska for the last quarterfinals berth in the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
“It’s a gutsy move. It takes one great player to be willing to take that shot. That’s why he’s Terrence Romeo. In short, makapal talaga ang mukha niya (he’s never shy in taking the shot),” Batang Pier head coach Franz Pumaren said with a smile after his team escaped the Aces, 107-106.
Romeo joked that he just did what Pumaren used to do during his heyday.
“I told him in the dugout that perhaps, back in his heyday, he’d end up doing what I did. He’s also not scared when it comes to taking the big shots so I just did what he’d do,” Romeo said in Filipinio.
Romeo shared his will to win roots from his desire to carry GlobalPort into the playoffs.
“My thinking was I know we have to play one more game. It didn’t cross my mind that we’re going to lose,” he said. “Every time I shot the ball, even though I was missing, I was reminding myself that I have to make it and I want to contribute to the team.”
Romeo scored 26 points on 9-of-20 from the field that went with five rebounds and three assists.
However, the Batang Pier would need more than that from Romeo against top seed Ginebra, which enjoys a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
“I still haven’t thought about Ginebra. All I want is to go on practice tomorrow (Monday) and prepare. Whatever happens on Tuesday, all I want is for us to be prepared,” he said.