Terrence Romeo talks to reporters as he attends his first practice with San Miguel.
MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel team governor Robert Non gave a simple yet powerful statement when he formally introduced the polarizing Terrence Romeo to his new team on Thursday at Acropolis Clubhouse.
Non described Romeo as “the most misunderstood player” in the league when he introducing the three-time scoring champion to the Beermen.
Romeo, who made his first appearance with the team on Thursday since being traded last month, is aware he doesn’t have the richest of histories in the few years he’s been in the league.
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Despite being a generational talent in his position, Romeo had trouble with his former teams NorthPort and TNT after getting involved in several controversies with the two clubs.
This, Romeo said, made him more mature towards the people he associates with.
“I think the lesson I can get from my previous teams is I have to choose who my real friends are,” said Romeo in Filipino. “Because in the world of PBA players, you can’t immediately say who are the sincere people, and you all saw what happened in my previous teams.”
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“If I have my wrongs, I think they weren’t that bad but we just have to move on. We just have to be happy, I’m happy for them and if they’re not happy for me I will be happy for myself.”
San Miguel acquired Romeo via trade that sent bench players Brian Heruela and David Semerad, and a 2020 first round pick to TNT.
Romeo was also traded away by his first club GlobalPort earlier in the year after he and head coach Pido Jarencio had some public run-ins. He also allegedly went AWOL for several days before TNT shipped him to San Miguel.
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But Romeo insists that the public doesn’t know the whole truth about this tumultuous stretch in his PBA career.
“People only know me through what you guys write and put out, and they don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes,” said Romeo. “And I won’t act the way people perceive me because I know myself better than them.”