Whatever it takes

Terrence Romeo talks to reporters as he attends his first practice with San Miguel. INQUIRER photo/Denison Dalupang

For those wondering how a troubled superstar can fit himself into a title-studded roster, here’s an encouraging start: Terrence Romeo knows his place in the San Miguel Beer lineup.

“Wala talaga akong maipag-mamalaki sa kahit kanino sa team na ‘to,” the controversial playmaker told reporters after his first practice with the Beermen Thursday.

It’s a mind-set he needs to hold on to if he wants to squeeze out the most of this last chance to smooth out a career that has alternated between highlights and unsavory headlines: “I have nothing on the guys on this team.”

“I want to learn from them. I want to learn how to become a champion,” he said of the stars of the team that has won four straight all-Filipino titles.

Reportedly on a demand by the stars of his former team, Romeo was shipped out by TNT for San Miguel’s Brian Heruela, David Semerad, and a 2021 first round pick. The transaction ended Romeo’s affair with the KaTropa, one that didn’t even last a whole season.

To make this shot at relevance work, Romeo knows he has his work cut out for him.

“I’ll just have to play the right way of basketball,” said Romeo. And that means leaving the past way behind him.

The PBA’s three-time scoring champion refuses to dwell on his unceremonious exit from the KaTropa, who reportedly dealt him away to preserve their cherished chemistry.

“Kung sasabihin ko ‘yung totoong dahilan, hahaba lang ‘yung usapan,” he said. “I’m moving on.”

“Whatever they say about me, whatever the writeups say about me—about going Awol, about being unreachable during our Christmas party, I don’t know any more … I have no control over that now,” he added in Filipino.

Before his tour of duty with KaTropa, Romeo played for GlobalPort for five years, a partnership that also ended on a sour note after a spat with coach Pido Jarencio that was caught on national TV.

“I’ll just make the most out of it with my new team. It is what it is,” said the 26-year-old guard known for his isolation skills. “We’re in a world that sometimes, there are things you just couldn’t control.”