Leo Austria optimistic Terrence Romeo gamble will work for Beermen

MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel head coach Leo Austria knows the controversies that had surrounded his new player Terrence Romeo is all water under the bridge as he prepares his team for a fifth straight PBA Philippine Cup title.

Romeo made his first official appearance as a Beerman on the team’s Thursday practice at Acropolis Clubhouse, and Austria showed optimism towards his new player.

“We all know what he’s capable of, and the good thing is his teammates’ body language feels like they’re already welcoming Terrence,” said Austria in Filipino. “As long as Terrence works hard for the team, I think it would be a great relationship between him and the team.”

“What we want is for him to work hard and follow the system and he should learn to have a good relationship with his teammates because he’s a strong player.”

Romeo had unceremonious exits from NorthPort and TNT after he got into several misunderstandings with Batang Pier head coach Pido Jarencio.

Romeo has also had some altercations in the past with his now teammates Marcio Lassiter and Arwind Santos.

Any bad blood among the players, however, seemed to have evaporated with Santos immediately greeting Romeo before practice started and Lassiter giving his new teammate a few chocolate bars that he also gave away to the team.

Austria was well aware of any potential chemistry issues San Miguel may get into but he hopes Romeo’s work ethic alone would help him get along with his new teammates.

“There’s always a question about chemistry when Terrence got here and not just because of the issues but the fact that Terrence deserves to have a longer playing time than his previous teammates,” said Austria who led the Beermen to their past six titles. “Terrence’s work ethic is really impressive, he has this high passion for playing basketball. It was like he was born with a basketball in hand.”