MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel’s trade for Terrence Romeo in December certainly sent shockwaves across the PBA as the arguably best team of its era managed to add more talent to its already loaded roster.
The Beermen have the most titles in PBA history with 25, winning six of the last 12 titles the past four seasons in the June Mar Fajardo era and with Romeo, a three-time scoring champion, in tow, the possibilities are endless for San Miguel.
Romeo was initially scheduled to have his first practice with San Miguel on January 2 but team officials said it they opted to have the former TNT KaTropa report on Thursday.
There’s no question that Romeo is one of the best guards in the league but the addition of the isolation-heavy guard to a team that has thrived in teamwork the past years can certainly be a cause of concern.
Marcio Lassiter, who is part of the core championship team, is the first to say that the team won’t be changing the style that has brought them success to accommodate just one player.
“We’re not going to change for another player and we never did that in the years I’ve been here. We’ve been doing it the San Miguel Beermen style,” said Lassiter after the team’s practice Wednesday at Acropolis Gym.
Lassiter didn’t seem ecstatic to have the polarizing gunner on his side. After all, they don’t have the fondest of histories after the two got into a heated commotion during the Commissioner’s Cup that saw both of them get ejected.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be awkward but he’s my teammate now and if he wants to say something from the past that’s him.
But with the two players now after the same thing, which is to add to San Miguel’s trophy case, the Lassiter is willing to set aside the difference for a bigger cause.
“I just want to play, I’m just going to play the way I’ve been playing and focus on winning a championship and that’s the most important thing,” said Lassiter. “If he wants to be part of it that’s great and let’s keep it going.”
“We know how to win so at the end we want to put it together and use their strengths and use them to be a better team.”