Romeo blasts players who called Gilas ’embarassing’: Why don’t you convert to Australian

Gilas players while awaiting the decision of the referees after the brawl. photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Terrence Romeo went off on fellow players who criticized Gilas Pilipinas after figuring in a nasty brawl with the Australian national team in the Fiba World Cup Qualifiers Monday night.

Romeo lashed out on Twitter for the “embarrassing” comments Gilas received in the aftermath of the melee that quickly gained international attention and even drew comparisons to the infamous “Malice at the Palace” in 2004.

(To our fellow players who said we were embarrassing, we don’t care about you. We teammates inside the court need to help each other. We cannot let each other go. If we’re embarrassing in your eyes, why don’t you convert to Australian?)

The 26-year-old guard said Gilas just stood up for its teammate Roger Pogoy, who was decked by Australia’s Daniel Kickert with a forearm to the face.

“No matter what you say, we’re playing for each other, for our Fellow Filipinos and for the country. You don’t know our sacrifices. If you think defending our teammates who were hurt was wrong, that’s your problem. But what we’re not going to leave each other. The end.”

The video of the fight has been making rounds on social media and it’s as violent as they come with a fan even caught throwing a chair that hit Australian player Nathan Sobey.

A total of 13 players were ejected. Romeo was among the nine Gilas players tossed while four Aussies were thrown out including Kickert, whom head coach Chot Reyes blamed for triggering the brawl.

Several PBA players including Chris Ross, Sol Mercado and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser and even former Gilas captain Jimmy Alapag described the incident as “embarrassing.”

RELATED VIDEO

Read more...