Count Vic Manuel in among people crossing their fingers to see Terrence Romeo suit up sooner, with Terrafirma badly needing all the help it can get.
The ‘Muscle Man’ practically sent an S.O.S. to the former PBA three-time scoring champion after the Dyip fell to its seventh loss in as many games following a meltdown against the youth-laden Rain or Shine on Sunday.
“Siguro malaking factor kung nakakapaglaro si TR,” he told reporters moments after their 124-112 defeat at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
“Sana next year, makapaglaro na siya,” he added. “Sa pagbalik namin ng bagong taon, sana makalaro na siya, makuha namin ‘yung first win namin.”
Romeo wasn’t around for the Elasto Painters game as he remains on sick bay due to an unspecified injury. The 32-year-old hasn’t played for his new team since being traded by San Miguel alongside Manuel last November.
Still, Terrafirma continues to soldier on, and that was evident when it battled Rain or Shine. There, the squad roared to a fiery 37-point first quarter, and even established a 108-104 lead with 7:50 remaining in the deciding chapter.
But similar to their previous matches, the wards of acting coach Raymond Tiongco folded. They hit a lengthy scoring drought while RoS put together a 13-0 spree to take the lead for good, 117-108, with 3:52 on the clock.
Then came Adrian Nocum, nailing the dagger triple that took the fight out of Terrafirma – and left the team ruing yet another meltdown.
“Ni-remind din sa amin ni Coach na nandun na kami,” said Manuel, who had 12 points. “Mga last na talo namin, natatalo kami sa third, tapos nananalo kami sa third. Ngayon naman, nanalo kami sa third, talo kami sa fourth.”
“‘Yun lang, kailangan close out lang talaga. ‘Yun lang yung problema namin. Kinakapos lang talaga,” added the veteran forward.
Manuel remains optimistic with the kind of team he’s in, believing that it could develop into a competitive squad perhaps soon.
And having Romeo back would be great.
“Pero, good team naman eh. Baka hindi man ngayon, sa mga next conference mas maging better yung team namin. Late lang talaga nabuo eh,” said the 37-year-old bruiser. “Tapos si TR, hindi pa nakakapaglaro.”
