Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Year after year—from Far Eastern University to San Miguel Beer—Terrence Romeo had to endure the criticisms, trolling and constant blame.
The moment he had been waiting for so long finally came on Wednesday night.
San Miguel Beer won a grueling seven-game series that came down to the last second to extend its Philippine Cup reign.
READ: San Miguel makes history with 5th straight Philippine Cup title, outlasts Magnolia
Romeo cut down the net and wore it over his neck. He can finally be called a champion and he made sure his haters would know about it.
“Mga haters ko lagi akong mine-message sa Instagram, sa Twitter. Mine-message ako na hindi raw ako magcha-champion. Talented daw ako, nasa akin daw lahat ng award pero never daw ako magcha-champion, Malas daw ako sa San Miguel. So parang gusto kong sabihin sa kanila ngayon na paki-message nila ako ulit sa Instagram ko and mamaya pag nag-post ako ng picture, pag nag-post ako ng trophy, paki-message ako ulit, lahat sila sabihin nila lahat ng gusto nila,” Romeo said.
Here’s a video of newly-minted PBA champion Terrence Romeo clapping back at his haters: pic.twitter.com/1L2TgRFhvV
— Mark Giongco (@MarkGiongcoINQ) May 16, 2019
(My haters always message me on Instagram and Twitter, saying ‘ you will never win a championship’ or that ‘you’re talented, you have all these awards but you will never be a champion,’ ‘you bring bad luck to San Miguel.’ Now I want to tell them to send me a message again, later when I post a photo with the trophy. Message me again and tell me everything you want to say.)
READ: Leo Austria puts positive spin on Terrence Romeo’s outburst
Even the PBA commentators on TV got a special mention from the prolific yet enigmatic guard.
“Hindi maiiwasan na meron talagang mga tao na minsan binibilang pa kung ilang dribbles yung ginagawa mo. Pero ang point ko lang doon katulad nung Game 1, nakalimutan ko [kung sino] yung mga commentators, pero binibilang nila kung ilang dribbles ginagawa ko,” he recalled. “Pag sumablay pagtatawanan nila pero pag yung dribbles ko na-shoot ko hindi naman nila binibilang. Pag sablay lang nila binibilang.”
“Yun ang mahirap eh pero at least nag-champion na ako ngayon. Paki bilang na lang ulit dribbles ko.”
(There are really people who count the dribbles that you make. Like in Game 1, I forgot who the commentators were, they were counting my dribbles. When I fail, they laugh at at me, but when I make the shot, they don’t count my dribbles. They only care when I miss. At least I’m a champion now. They can count my dribbles again.)
READ: Finals first-timer Terrence Romeo ‘serious’ about mulling retirement if Beermen wins title
The 27-year-old Romeo, who has multiple scoring titles to add to his maiden championship, also said he has nothing else to prove.
“Ilang beses na ako nag-40 points sa PBA. Wala na akong kailangan patunayan sa kanila.”
Romeo had said he’s been seriously contemplating about retirement if he wins his first PBA title before the finals.
But his first taste of the championship left him wanting for more.
“Gusto ko pa makakuha ulit,” he said.