Terrence Romeo is back. After sub-par performances in his past few games, the former Far Eastern
University standout exploded for 30 points, leading GlobalPort Batang Pier past the Talk ‘n Text Tropang
Texters in a thrilling 105-97 shootout, Tuesday night at the Araneta Coliseum.
The No. 5 pick of the 2013 draft sunk five out of nine three-point attempts, and had 2 rebounds and 3
assists off the bench.
The first quarter saw the two squads go trigger-happy, trading baskets and exchanging leads for the first
ten minutes of the ball game. After gaining a 17-16 edge, GlobalPort suddenly exploded for the contest’s
first run, going 7-0 capped by a buzzerbeating, acrobatic lay-up from Terrence Romeo to give Batang
Pier a 24-16 edge at the end of the quarter.
Talk ‘n Text however would return in the second quarter looking to bounce back strong. The Tropang
Texters embarked on a 16-2 run, and after finally forcing a 29-29 deadlock on the quarter, found
themselves with a three-point lead after a three-point conversion from Larry Fonacier. GlobalPort’s
Terrence Romeo, however, responded in kind on the other, draining a trey to force another deadlock,
32-32. After a resumption of the trade of leads and baskets for the remainder of the quarter, the score
stood at 41-39, in favor of GlobalPort, entering halftime.
The second half opened to a game of runs. Global Port led by as many as nine, 50-41, in the first three
minutes of the third period. But Talk ‘n Text pulled together to trim the lead before it could balloon,
spurred by the return of veteran guard and team captain Jimmy Alapag, whose three made free throws
gave the lead back to the Tropang Texters, 59-58, with 5:24 on the clock. Powered by an eight-point
explosion from Harvey Carey, the Tropang Texters stayed in the driver’s seat for the remainder of
the quarter, eventually closing out the quarter with a 76-70 lead.
GlobalPart opened the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run to take back the lead, 79-78, with ten minutes left
on the clock. The two squads spent the next few minutes trading baskets with lead changes every
couple of seconds. Down 89-91, the hot-shooting duo of Ronjay Buenafe and Terrence Romeo
collaborated for a 12-0 run that put Talk n’ Text on top by ten, 101-91, entering the final two minutes.
Talk ‘n Text stopped the bleeding with a triple, but Romeo immediately mailed his response,
sinking a trey to put GlobalPort back on top by ten, 104-94, with little more left than a minute left to
play. Global Port would deny Talk ‘n Text any chance of mounting a comeback in the final minute.
Ronjay Buenafe, Mark Isip, and Stanley Pring each had 13 markers to help the Batang Pier. Harvey Carey
and Ranidel de Ocampo had 24 and 23 respectively for the Tropang Texters.
This is the first time GlobalPort have won over the Talk ‘n Text franchise since joining the PBA in 2012.
Both teams currently at 4-3 in the standings.
