San Miguel’s culture of unselfishness helps Terrence Romeo find redemption
Terrence Romeo celebrates his second PBA title with his son, Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Terrence Romeo has been one of the PBA’s most polarizing players.
As talented as he is, being a three-time scoring champion and all, Romeo couldn’t shake off the notion that he is one selfish player and this assumption was what led to his movement from NorthPort to TNT then to San Miguel.
It was with the Beermen, though, that Romeo vowed that he would be a changed man and the Finals MVP plum that he won in the Commissioner’s Cup proved to be the testament to his 180-degree turnaround.
READ: Terrence Romeo ‘blessed’ as selfless play leads to 1st Finals MVP award
Romeo came off the bench for the entire finals series against TNT but he was the Beermen’s most consistent local player en route to the franchise’s 27th title.
“Para sa akin, pag iniisip mo na paano kayo mananalo makakalimutan mo na ikaw yung bida,” said Romeo after the Beermen’s 102-90 Game 6 win Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Kumbaga, hindi mo kailangan ikaw laging bida, ang importante manalo yung team. May mga games na four attempts, two attempts pero panalo kami.”
READ: Beermen guard Terrence Romeo named PBA Finals MVP
(For me, when you think about how you will win, you forget that you don’t have to be the star. Basically, you don’t have to be the main guy all the time, the important thing is the team wins . There are times when I get to shoot four or two times but we get the win.)
Romeo, who now has two titles with San Miguel, was the team’s sixth man since the start of the season but it was in the finals of the Commissioner’s Cup that he would be seen as the ultimate professional.
The 27-year-old guard averaged 14.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists during the finals culminating with a 10-point, seven-rebound performance in Game 6.
Romeo’s accolade made him the first bench player since Larry Fonacier in the 2012 Philippine Cup to become the Finals MVP.
READ: Terrence Romeo plays best game yet for Beermen in Game 2 win
“Ang thinking ng bawat isa sa amin, lahat ng players ng San Miguel, kahit si June Mar [Fajardo] na pinakamagaling sa liga, napaka-unselfish,” said Romeo. “Never siyang nag-iisip na kailangan ganito, kailangan ganyan. Gusto lang niyang manalo.”
“Yun yung natutunan ko, para sakin na-adapt ko na culture nila na [para manalo] unang una, kailangan maging unselfish ka.” (Everyone thinks the same way here at San Miguel, even June Mar who’s the best player in the league is really unselfish. He never thought that he should do this or that. He just wants to win. That’s what I learned, their culture that if you want to win, you have to be unselfish.)
